National HIV/AIDS Strategy
Encouraging the Development of Statewide HIV/AIDS Plans
On Tuesday, April 12, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) convened a consultation to explore the principles and practices that should be considered as we move forward in our efforts to encourage the development of state HIV/AIDS plans as recommended in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The Strategy’s Federal Implementation Plan directs HHS…
Federal Leads Continue Collaborative Efforts
On Monday, April 4, 2011, representatives from the six Federal agencies designated by the President as lead agencies with responsibility for implementing the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) met to continue our collaborative efforts to implement the Strategy. The primary focus of the meeting was the continued exploration of the impact of homelessness and housing insecurity…
Updating the HOPWA Funding Formula
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is committed to working with our Federal and community partners to ensure the success of the national response to HIV/AIDS articulated in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). In my prior post, I described some of the activities we are undertaking and how community members can engage with…
The Role of Communities in Implementing the Strategy: Perspectives from Florida
In early April, I was privileged to be able to talk to a group of nearly 300 health care providers, lawyers, public health and community leaders about the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). The event was the 19th annual “Florida Bioethics: Debates, Decisions, Solutions” conference, a day-long meeting hosted by the University of…
Approaching 30 Years of HIV/AIDS in the United States
In less than two months, we will mark the 30th anniversary of the first reported cases of what we now know as AIDS. In June 1981, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rare form of pneumonia diagnosed in five, previously healthy, gay men from Los Angeles. The report raised concerns that…
Multiple Community Partners Collaborate to Address HIV/AIDS Among Women in the Pacific Northwest
Later this month I will have the honor of speaking to a regional training conference about women of color and HIV/AIDS for health professionals from the Pacific Northwest. This training is just one of many important local, state, and regional community mobilizations aligned with the National HIV/AIDS Strategy that are unfolding across the country. Like…
HHS Strategy Implementation Group Reviews Progress, Identifies Additional Opportunities
Last week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) convened a meeting of its department-wide National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) Implementation Group. This was the first meeting of the group since the completion of the HHS NHAS Operational Plan and its public release in mid-February. During the meeting, representatives of operational divisions and staff offices…
San Francisco’s New Approach to HIV Prevention
With this post, we launch an occasional series, The Strategy in Action: Communities Respond to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. In these posts, we will spotlight some of the ways that diverse communities from across the U.S. are undertaking efforts to support and implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. This first post in the series features HIV…
Working with the Community to Reduce New HIV Infections Among Gay and Bisexual Men and Transgender Women
“The United States cannot reduce the number of HIV infections nationally without better addressing HIV among gay and bisexual men.” So declares the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), boldly and accurately. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gay men make up approximately 2 percent of the U.S. population, but account for 53 percent…
Report by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status
On March 16, the White House released the Report by the President’s Task Force on Puerto Rico’s Status. That report contained a number of recommendations related to Puerto Rico’s political status and economic development; it also addressed the need for HIV outreach and education, especially for Puerto Rico’s veterans. In July 2011, the President…
