amfAR Applauds President Obama’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy

Calls the plan an “important advance” for a more effective response but cautions that implementation and financing will be the key factors in success 

For Immediate Release

Media Contact: Cub Barrett, Program Communications Manager, (212) 806-1602 

NEW YORK, July 13, 2010—amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, on Tuesday endorsed President Barack Obama’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy, calling it an important advance in the fight against HIV/AIDS in the United States.

The strategy, which will be unveiled at a White House briefing this afternoon, sets goals for reducing HIV incidence; increasing access to care; and reducing health-related disparities in the domestic epidemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than 1.1 Americans are living with HIV or AIDS, and an estimated 56,000 become infected with HIV each year.

“The President’s National HIV/AIDS Strategy provides a solid foundation for a more effective federal response to AIDS in the U.S., especially among the most vulnerable populations,” said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost, a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. “What’s important now is how the government moves forward in implementing and financing the strategy. It is important that the Administration be held accountable for the targets it has set in order that real progress be achieved against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in America. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to bring our domestic AIDS epidemic under control.”

Founded in 1985, amfAR has long been a vocal proponent of national HIV/AIDS strategy, identifying it as a top goal when the public policy office opened in Washington, D.C., in 1991. Chris Collins, vice president and director of public policy, has been a forceful advocate for a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS response both before and after joining amfAR in 2009, and wrote a monograph in 2007 outlining the need for a national HIV/AIDS strategy.

“We’ve neglected our domestic epidemic for many years,” Collins said. “America is a leader in tackling global AIDS, but our response to the epidemic at home has been a patchwork of uncoordinated programs that lack accountability for outcomes.”

But Collins voiced support for the strategy: “The President’s new strategy presents an important advance for a more results-oriented effort. We applaud the Administration for setting clear targets for progress, and emphasizing the needs of the most vulnerable in this epidemic, including gay men and other men who have sex with men, African Americans, Latinos, and others.” 
Related:

View the National HIV/AIDS Strategy at whitehouse.gov: http://www.whitehouse.gov/AIDS-Strategy 

More about amfAR’s advocacy for a National HIV/AIDS Strategy is available at On The Hill 

About amfAR
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $307 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.