amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research

Policy and Advocacy Priorities

The policy office tracks budgetary decision-making in the U.S. and advocates for domestic, bilateral, and multilateral funding for HIV; performs research on strategic and programmatic targets and progress reporting to ensure that programs are delivering services to all populations in need; and maintains a database of funding and target data from the PEPFAR program.

amfAR is committed to reducing the risk of acquiring HIV and hepatitis C through the sharing of contaminated needles/syringes and advocating for harm reduction policies to improve outcomes for people who inject drugs. The policy office maintains a database of epidemiological, policy, and funding data on opioid use, HIV, and hepatitis C.

The policy office advocates for expanded access to HIV prevention and treatment services for gay men, other men who have sex with men, transgender individuals, sex workers, and people who inject drugs worldwide, and to fight the stigma and discrimination that make these populations more vulnerable to HIV infection and inhibit equal access to care.

Through the policy office, amfAR is a leading advocate for continued robust U.S. support for the global HIV response through critical programs such as PEPFAR—the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief—and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

The amfAR policy office advocates for a strong commitment to HIV research and for funding for the National Institutes of Health. In addition, the policy office advocates for access to affordable medicines for both HIV and HCV.

In many countries, women and girls bear the highest burden of HIV. In the U.S., approximately one in four people living with HIV are women, the majority of whom are women of color. amfAR advocates for increasing access to HIV services and reducing the socioeconomic and cultural factors that make women and girls vulnerable to acquiring HIV.

Driven by rising rates of injection drug use, the incidence of hepatitis C (HCV) in the U.S. has tripled in the last five years. The amfAR policy office advocates for increased access to prevention and treatment services for people living with, or at risk for, HCV, and maintains a database of epidemiologic, policy, and funding data on opioid use, HIV, and HCV.