Friday, March 01, 2013

Bankrupt NAPWA 'Honored' by Corrupt AIDS United

 (Birds of a feather: Michael Kaplan, left, former member of NAPWA's board, and Jeff Crowley, right, former NAPWA executive and former director of the White House Office of Aids National Policy, on Feb. 26 in Washington, chirping praise for NAPWA. Credit: Aids United, Khalid Naji-Allah.)

Any HIV group that would bestow an honorary award on the National Association of People With AIDS, recently bankrupt and closed after years of scant transparency and overly beholden to the CDC, is corrupt in my book and gives me reason number 824 to loathe AIDS Inc.

I stand and salute the vital advocacy of Greg Milward, a fierce PWA accountability fighter from Madison, Wisconsin, and fully back every word and question mark in this post today at his HIV USA blog:

What does filing for bankruptcy, refusing to answer legitimate questions from members of the HIV community and an open investigation by the Maryland States Attorney’s office get you? What does the secrecy surrounding the retirement of the CEO and outstanding debts of over $700,000 get you? . . .

It gets you honored at AIDS United’s AIDSWatch 2013 Positive Leadership Reception. 

That’s right—less than two weeks after NAPWA ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy amid hundreds of unanswered questions, AIDS United saw fit to “honor” NAPWA at the Positive Leadership reception that was held in conjunction with AIDS Watch 2013 . . .

Hundreds of PWAs could have used that $700,000 pissed away for life-extending and opportunistic-infection-avoiding cocktails, housing rental vouchers and a whole hell of a lot of blood draws and visits with a physician. Greg continues:

This was a colossal blunder by Michael Kaplan, AIDS United’s CEO. To honor NAPWA at a time when there are so many outstanding questions regarding the circumstances about NAPWA’s demise is mind-boggling . . . Kaplan should have let the bankruptcy process and the law enforcement investigations play out before holding this public display of post-mortem sucking up to the past and present NAPWA leadership. 

It is doubly concerning given the fact that Kaplan was a member of the NAPWA Board of Directors from June 2006 until August 2008 . . .  Kaplan, newly arrived CEO at AIDS United, thumbed his nose at those who are asking legitimate questions regarding NAPWA and in doing so calls into question the organizational integrity of AIDS United.

Greg Milward needs to do much more writing on his blog and educating me, and other PWAs, about homo history that includes facts like Kaplan being a former NAPWA board member. AIDS Inc executives are again looking out for themselves first, their corrupt and inept buddies second, and people living with HIV last.

Across the groups that comprise AIDS Inc, the incestuousness of the executives and board members harms PWAs and has to be sunshined. Thank you, Greg, for the service you are providing to the AIDS community.

Shame on Michael Kaplan and AIDS United for the dubious honor they give NAPWA.

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