National HIV/AIDS Strategy Meeting Videos Now Available

By Miguel Gomez, AIDS.gov Director

As we mentioned in last week’s post, the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) held a meeting on February 24, 2010 for the public to hear about the progress to date on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). A video is now available of last week’s public meeting.

We spoke with some of our fellow attendees and asked them what they took away from the meeting, and we’ve created a video capturing some of those conversations. We hope you’ll take a look, and leave a comment about what you hope to see as development of the NHAS goes forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9R0f_Nj-kA

Read the transcript.

Stay tuned to AIDS.gov and the ONAP website for more updates about the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.

Organizations Serving Youth of Color: Using New Media to Enhance Programs

Guest post by Urooj Arshad, Advocates for Youth

Urooj Arshad, Advocates for Youth

Last month we had the pleasure of speaking at the Advocates for Youth roundtable in Washington, DC for its Youth of Color Initiative (funded through the CDC's Division of Adolescent School Health). The participants were grantees who receive seed grants and capacity building services.We asked Urooj Arshad, Program Manager for the Youth of Color Initiative at Advocates for Youth, to tell us more about the roundtable and how their grantees are using new media to reach youth of color. Here is what she had to say:

This roundtable provided an opportunity for the grantees to share lessons learned as well as strategies for developing and implementing culturally appropriate HIV prevention interventions for young African American/Black and Latina/Hispanic women. Some of the skills-based sessions included: mobilizing youth of color using new media strategies; organizational development; science-based programs; and working with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth.

Organizations funded through the Youth of Color Initiative occupy a wide spectrum of geographic, infrastructural and programmatic diversity.

Federal Interagency Members Meet with Public on Next Steps for the National AIDS Strategy

By Julia Eisman, New Media Communications Director, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Gregorio Millett, Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, addresses the crowd

Approximately 200 people gathered today to hear about progress on one of President Obama's major initiatives—the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS). This meeting provided an opportunity to update the public on the process for developing the Strategy, as well as current status and next steps. It allowed the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and HHS to share feedback from community discussions which began last summer, and offered participants the opportunity to meet with the Federal HIV Interagency Working Group – made up of representatives from agencies working on HIV/AIDS across the Federal government, including White House offices. The working group was brought together in an effort to establish a coordinated response to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

FDA Advises Patients and Care Providers on Drug Combination Safety Considerations

By Erica Jefferson, the Office of Public Affairs, U.S. Food and Drug Administration

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is committed to keeping the public updated on advances and shifts in treatment options and methods. The FDA is reviewing data that suggest use of the HIV drug Invirase (saquinavir) in combination with Norvir (ritonavir) may have a potentially serious effect on a patient’s heart.

The data, drawn from clinical trials, indicate that the two drugs taken together may affect the normal electrical activity of the heart.

ONAP Announces Federal Interagency Members Developing National HIV/AIDS Strategy

By Gregorio Millett, Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (Cross-posted from the Office of National AIDS Policy Blog)

Office of National AIDS Policy Director Jeffrey Crowley speaks at a community discussion in Houston, TX.

On Wednesday, February 24th, from 2:00-3:45pm, the public will have an opportunity to hear more about our progress to date and the process that the interagency working group is following to develop the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, as well as meet the members of the interagency working group. The meeting is hosted by the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and the Office of Public Health and Science (OPHS) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  The meeting is not a community discussion, but designed to give the public an opportunity to hear what has already taken place and our next steps in developing the strategy.(See an agenda of the meeting.)