Jeffrey Crowley, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, announced on Tuesday a new national plan to combat the spread of HIV in the country. Called the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), $30 million from one of the Obama administration’s health care reform bills, the Affordable Care Act, will be given to NHAS to implement the program.
The strategy has three main goals: “reducing the number of new infections; increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV; and reducing HIV-related health disparities,” said Crowley in a White House press release.
The program includes steps like strengthening “HIV prevention efforts” in areas where the number of people infected with the virus are most concentrated, implementing HIV prevention education, increasing the number of health providers for people with HIV, and reducing social stigma and discrimination against HIV patients.
Obama also addressed a gathering of HIV and AIDS activists at the White House regarding the new strategy. He listed expanded HIV testing and insurance coverage as some important steps included in his health care reform, as well as targeting black, gay, and bisexual communities where HIV infection is most prevalent. Obama reassured the crowd of his commitment to combating HIV/AIDS on a global scale, and also emphasized the importance of promoting AIDS awareness through multiple mediums.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement, “We can’t afford complacency – not when in the ten minutes I’ve been talking to you, another American has just contracted HIV. That’s why our strategy calls for aggressive efforts to educate Americans about how dangerous this disease still is and the steps they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
About 56,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year. To date, there are already 1.1 million in the nation living with the HIV virus.
The NHAS’s vision is for the United States to be “a place where new HIV infections are rare, and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic circumstance will have unfettered access to high-quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.” To achieve this goal, Crowley said the federal government is only part of the solution. “Success will require the commitment of all parts of society,” he noted.
The strategy has three main goals: “reducing the number of new infections; increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV; and reducing HIV-related health disparities,” said Crowley in a White House press release.
The program includes steps like strengthening “HIV prevention efforts” in areas where the number of people infected with the virus are most concentrated, implementing HIV prevention education, increasing the number of health providers for people with HIV, and reducing social stigma and discrimination against HIV patients.
Obama also addressed a gathering of HIV and AIDS activists at the White House regarding the new strategy. He listed expanded HIV testing and insurance coverage as some important steps included in his health care reform, as well as targeting black, gay, and bisexual communities where HIV infection is most prevalent. Obama reassured the crowd of his commitment to combating HIV/AIDS on a global scale, and also emphasized the importance of promoting AIDS awareness through multiple mediums.
Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius said in a statement, “We can’t afford complacency – not when in the ten minutes I’ve been talking to you, another American has just contracted HIV. That’s why our strategy calls for aggressive efforts to educate Americans about how dangerous this disease still is and the steps they can take to protect themselves and their loved ones.”
About 56,000 Americans are infected with HIV each year. To date, there are already 1.1 million in the nation living with the HIV virus.
The NHAS’s vision is for the United States to be “a place where new HIV infections are rare, and when they do occur, every person, regardless of age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, or socio-economic circumstance will have unfettered access to high-quality, life-extending care, free from stigma and discrimination.” To achieve this goal, Crowley said the federal government is only part of the solution. “Success will require the commitment of all parts of society,” he noted.
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