Norton, the District’s nonvoting delegate to Congress, is a supporter of Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care, the only area organization focused on helping children born with HIV. She helped organize the group’s Hope is an Art Form fundraiser, which will take place Wednesday at the Longview Gallery on Ninth Street NW. For information, go to forthechildrendc.com.
What is the mission of Pediatric AIDS/HIV Care?
Their mission is one that shouldn’t have to be. … There are many states which have reduced prenatal HIV to zero. The District of Columbia has 6 percent of the [HIV positive] children in the United States, which means there’s something more we have to do, particularly since prenatal HIV is the only preventable HIV. If a woman is tested when pregnant, we can prevent this disease and it’s happening all over the world. It’s got to begin to happen in the nation’s capital.
Where does HIV education and testing need to be to help the community stay informed?
I don’t think there has been enough testing. I believe every pregnant woman should be tested because the test is so low-cost and we’re trying to do universal testing anyway.
What made you as a congresswoman want to be involved in this cause?
Well, I’ve been very much involved in the HIV/AIDS epidemic since it began and I regard its most tragic example to be infants for whom the disease could have been prevented.
What do you see as your role in helping educate D.C. about HIV?
Well, I think it’s a role of anyone, elected or not, in a leadership position, to be leading on this issue, especially in the District of Columbia, because of our particularly high HIV/AIDS rate. … It’s going to take leadership from every elected official, from every minister, from everyone who regards themselves as a leader in our city and in our community. – Anna Waugh
