Bermuda is set to become more proactive in the battle against AIDS by setting up a solid national policy regarding the disease.

Michael Fox, director and administrator of the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, will be spearheading the National AIDS Programme.

The committee, which is to be comprised of ten to 12 people from fields such as the insurance industry, education, law, social work and the Health Department, to examine issues surrounding the AIDS crisis and help develop appropriate legislation.

And Health Minister Nelson Bascome said the committee was expected to meet for the first time next week.

"Bermuda will probably be one of the few nations that will develop a clear-cut policy for people with AIDS, and develop some medical protocol so people aren't discriminated against,'' said Mr. Bascome.

The idea for the committee was first conceived more than a year ago. Mr. Fox was originally to act as chair, but then spent a year travelling around the world gathering information about AIDS and HIV.

And Mr. Fox, who is the chair of the Caribbean Regional Network for AIDS and HIV in Trinidad, agreed with Mr. Bascome that developing a national policy is important to protect against discrimination.

"People with HIV in Bermuda are so afraid of losing their jobs,'' said Mr.

Fox. "I know situations where HIV-positive people were immediately dismissed -- because there's no policy set, no law.

"And one of the greatest problems in Bermuda is people, who are policy makers, don't listen to people who have AIDS.'' Health Department epidemiologist Rhonda Daniels said there were four new cases of AIDS diagnosed in Bermuda between January to April of this year, and three new cases of people who tested HIV-positive.

And according to Government statistics, there were a total of 16 new HIV-positive cases reported last year, and 19 new cases of AIDS.

There were a total of 484 cases of HIV reported between 1985 and 1999, and 437 cases of AIDS reported during those years -- keeping in mind that many of the HIV-positive cases reported later developed into AIDS.

Almost half of all reported cases of AIDS and HIV were in the 30 to 39 year age bracket and close to 75 percent of all reported cases were men.

From his travel experiences, Mr. Fox said he realised there needs to be more cohesion between AIDS service organisations on Island.

"I went to Canada and visited 30 AIDS service organisations. Each agency referred us to the other,'' said Mr. Fox.

"Each focused on what they did and did it well. If they didn't have the technical knowledge or expertise, they refer to another agency.

"I just don't see that happening in Bermuda -- but HIV isn't about the Lighthouse or Agape House or the Allan Vincent Smith Foundation, it's about all of us,'' he added.

Mr. Fox said many people in Bermuda with HIV or AIDS are being treated through the Health Department.

He noted that, although unemployed people with the disease receive medical treatment as an indigent, those who are employed generally have group insurance which covers 80 percent.

But Mr. Fox added: "For some people, 20 percent for treatment and medication is a lot every month.'' Instituting a national AIDS policy will put Bermuda a step ahead of other countries in their treatment of the disease.

Currently, the policy of Bermuda's insurance providers toward AIDS surpasses their American counterparts -- the major insurance companies in Bermuda do not have lower coverage caps for AIDS and HIV related illness the way many insurance companies in the US do.

US insurance giant Mutual of Omaha voluntarily lifted its coverage caps, effective May 1, following lawsuits by two men with the virus.

The Associated Press reported that one of the men's Mutual of Omaha policy covered $25,000 for AIDS-related conditions compared with $1 million for other ailments.

In Bermuda, however, representatives from Argus Insurance Company and BF&M both stated that local insurance companies do not discriminate against AIDS- related sicknesses.

BF&M executive vice president Judy Panchaud-White stated: "In the States, it is quite the norm to find limitations or exclusion (on AIDS-related health care coverage), but that doesn't seem to be the norm here in Bermuda.'' She stated that BF&M did not place specific health insurance caps on AIDS-related conditions -- it was treated like any other illness.

Argus Insurance president and chief executive officer Gerald Simons stated that they also treated health insurance coverage for AIDS as they would any other illness.

And he added: "If a person is applying for life insurance in the late stages of AIDS, we would treat them as someone applying in the last stages of cancer -- there are no special policies.'' `People with HIV in Bermuda are so afraid of losing their jobs.' -- Michael Fox.