Tue. July 13, 2010
Washington, D.C. -
The Obama administration unveiled the nation's first-ever comprehensive AIDS strategy on Tuesday.
"Our country is at a crossroads," Obama said in a letter announcing the policy. "Right now, we are experiencing a domestic epidemic that demands a renewed commitment, increased public attention, and leadership."
The administration aims to curb the number of new HIV infections by 25 percent over the next five years and increase by 20 percent the number of HIV-positive people receiving treatment within 3 months of their diagnosis, up from the current 65 percent.
Officials at the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), the federal agency tasked with implementing the strategy, say they can accomplish these goals without increasing federal spending by focusing on groups most at-risk for infection, which include gay and bisexual men and African-Americans.
Jeffrey Crowley, director of ONAP, said the strategy "provides a roadmap for moving the nation forward in addressing the domestic HIV epidemic."
"The job of implementing this strategy does not fall on the federal government alone," he added. "Success will require the commitment of all pats of society, including state and local governments, businesses, faith communities, philanthropy, the scientific and medical communities, educational institutions, people living HIV, and others."
The strategy will focus on doing a better job at matching resources with needs. For example, the report suggests allocating more money to states with the highest "burden of disease."
The three-prong strategy also calls for the reduction of stigma associated with the disease.
The report says the strategy will help the United States become "a place where new HIV infections are rare and when they do occur, every person … will have unfettered access to high quality, life-extending care free from stigma and discrimination."
AIDS activists have criticized previous administrations for not outlining a comprehensive strategy for combating the epidemic domestically. Work on the national AIDS strategy began at the start of the administration.
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