WASHINGTON (AP) – Dozens of students, HIV-positive activists and health advocates were arrested Friday in a loud protest at the White House in advance of World AIDS Day.

Demonstrators said the Bush administration’s response to the spread of AIDS has been ineffective. They called for increased funding and an end to abstinence-only sex education requirements for U.S.-funded HIV and AIDS programs internationally. They said the disease also has been largely ignored at home in the nation’s capital, which has the country’s worst rate of infection.

More than 150 people gathered for the rally. They chanted: “When people with AIDS are under attack, what do we do? Act up, fight back.”

Later, 40 of the protesters were arrested after they sat down on the sidewalk in front of the White House and refused police orders to move, said Lt. Scott Fear of the U.S. Park Police.

The protest and other activities came days after a report detailing the breadth of HIV and AIDS in the District of Columbia. There are roughly 128 cases of AIDS per 100,000 city residents, far surpassing the national average of 14 cases per 100,000 people. Health officials say Washington has the highest AIDS rate among major U.S. cities.

Congress has prohibited the city from using its own funds for needle-exchange programs to reduce infections among drug users.