We chose to focus on the role that government played in the 1980s AIDS epidemic. Through our video, we tried to convey the extent to which budget and policy decisions made in New York City in the 1970s contributed to the increasing incidences of HIV and AIDS. Beginning in 1975, a fiscal and political crisis left New York City without the resources to pay its operating expenses or the ability to borrow money from the public. This crisis was rooted in global economic changes, but had a major effect on New York City. Then, the NYC banks decided to stop lending money to the city, a move that could have caused the city to ultimately declare bankruptcy. The EFCB (Emergency Financial Control Board) was appointed to balance the city’s budget so that it could once again borrow money from the public. It called for severe budget cuts in the city’s spending. Agencies with health responsibilities were particularly hit hard. The numbers of hospital workers, bed, and days providing service dropped tremendously.
Most researchers believe that the HIV infection first appeared in New York City during the 1970s and spread rapidly among men who had sex with men and injection drug users, first, and then, throughout the 1980s, to the wider sexual and drug networks. In New York City, 41% of AIDS cases were related to injection drug use, compared with 25% nationally.
Other decisions made during the fiscal crisis contributed to the inadequate HIV prevention services. Most health educators were laid off in 1975, so the Department of Health lacked the means to communicate health information effectively. In the city’s low-income minority communities, it took the Department of Health more than a decade to establish a network of AIDS educators. During this interval, the HIV infection proceeded to spread rapidly.
For our project, we decided to interview former mayor Ed Koch, to see his view on the government’s policies during this time. We also conducted an interview with an epidemiologist, who we conveniently found at Brooklyn College. We further plan to conduct an interview with an AIDS patient, to see their point of view on the major effect the government can have on their struggle with AIDS. We also plan to get in contact with a member of ACT-UP- an organization geared towards ending the AIDS crisis.
The most difficult part about this project was the technological aspect. Many of us were not technologically advanced, and so we found the end product to seem distant in our minds. Also, it was difficult to find images and videos on AIDS that were appropriate and relevant. Sometimes they were one but not the other.
On the whole, we all learned a lot about our topic through research. Some of us did not even know of this event in history, because it is not one that is discussed in history textbooks. Two of us even took formal classes on the history of New York City, and still we had never heard of this event until we had done the research on our own.