HIV Community Reacts to National HIV/AIDS Policy
HIV Community Reacts to National HIV/AIDS Policy
The following is a compilation of reactions of organizations and individuals culled from press releases, articles and interviews. The organizations are in alphabetical order. Due to time and technological constraints, this list does not include every organization which had a reaction to the Strategy, but it is hoped that there is an appropriate variety of sources. Apologies to any who may feel they should have been included.
—Sue Saltmarsh
To download the entire Strategy, go to
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/onap/nhas/
ADAP Advocacy Association
The ADAP Advocacy Association (aaa+) questioned the effectiveness of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy because it lacks the necessary funding to implement it.
“Today, many of the people that we represent are conflicted by a feeling of accomplishment battled with a sense of defeat because at the very moment when they should be celebrating the first-ever 'National AIDS Strategy' in the United States, over 2,300 Americans living with HIV/AIDS are waiting to access their life-saving medications,” said Brandon Macsata, CEO of aaa+, speaking at the National Press Club. “When will the relief that comforted the banks, financial institutions, auto-makers and people who purchased homes that they could not afford find its way to the most under-served among our people? What happened to the audacity of hope promised by this President?"
Macsata contends that the strategy itself, and all the hard work put into it by the Obama Administration and HIV/AIDS stakeholders nationwide over the last 15 months is lost in the reality that people are waiting to access the very treatment they need, and deserve.
AIDS Foundation of Chicago
Three years ago, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) joined with other AIDS service organizations and advocacy groups across the country to form the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy. The unveiling of the National Strategy was the embodiment of the goal of the Coalition.
“It has been both a personal and professional privilege to participate in this journey,” said AFC Vice President David Ernesto Munar, who has led AFC’s advocacy around the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. “Today’s release of the Strategy is an important milestone that we should all celebrate. However, it’s critical to acknowledge this is just the beginning. Advocates must stay engaged in the weeks, months, and years ahead to ensure this plan gets fully implemented.”
He pointed out that the Strategy provides tools which advocates can use to advance the fight against the disease. “There are already opportunities to use the Strategy to hold the federal government accountable. The ADAP crisis and implementation of recently passed health care reform legislation are prime examples of places we can use the administration’s own Strategy to push all levels of government towards aggressive action against HIV/AIDS,” said Munar. “We need to continue to fight for the strongest support possible for these programs and to advocate for the most vulnerable and at-risk populations.”
AAHIVM
The American Academy of HIV Medicine (AAHIVM) applauded the National HIV/AIDS Strategy.
"We hope the National Strategy will have the impact needed to turn the tide on the domestic epidemic," said James A. Friedman, executive director of AAHIVM. "HIV care providers in the U.S. have been on the frontlines of the fight against HIV/AIDS for three decades. We are pleased to finally see the U.S. government yield a formal strategy to the fight."
However, AAHIVM warned that proper implementation of the Strategy will be difficult without a more specific and detailed plan for supporting and increasing the HIV workforce. "The White House has shown unprecedented leadership in addressing the domestic HIV epidemic, with essential goals of linking more HIV patients to proper care," Friedman stated. "However, without more trained HIV providers, a patient may find an empty office at the end of this strategic roadmap."
Black AIDS Institute
Phill Wilson, President and CEO of the Black AIDS Institute commented, “The new strategy provides a promising opportunity for us to get real about the shortcomings in our national response to the epidemic. While the government has long funded intensive HIV prevention programs for individuals, we as a country have invested relatively meager amounts in efforts to affect community norms and values to promote risk reduction. At a time when AIDS deaths are largely preventable, the government has provided only minimal leadership in making knowledge of HIV serostatus an essential social norm in the most heavily affected communities.”
Like others, Wilson pointed out that the issue of funding remains a problem. “At a time when we are largely losing the fight to prevent new infections, prevention programs currently account for only 3% of federal AIDS spending. To put available prevention weapons to effective use, experts estimate that annual prevention spending needs to increase from $750 million to $1.3 billion for at least each of the next five years. This new strategy offers a sound, evidence-based approach to better results, but it will be worth little more than the paper it is written on if we don’t follow through with essential resources.”
Wilson opined, “If the new AIDS strategy is to succeed, it has to work for Black people. In reporting results, the Obama administration needs specifically to report outcomes for Black people. Only if prevention and treatment programs work for Black America will we win our national fight against AIDS.”
HIVMA
Michael Saag, MD,Chairman of the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA), “applauds the Obama administration’s release of a National HIV/AIDS Strategy that signals a strengthened national commitment to real and sustained success in the battle against HIV/AIDS. As clinicians and researchers on the frontline of this pandemic, we welcome this new comprehensive roadmap and look forward to working with diverse stakeholders at all levels of government and within the private sector to implement it. The success of the initiative will depend on an effective implementation plan supported by the resources necessary for monitoring and evaluation and to meet the strategy’s stated targets. With resources and a robust implementation plan, we can realize the strategy’s call for a nation in which new HIV infections are dramatically reduced, and those who are infected have prompt access to the comprehensive quality care and treatment they need, without fear of stigma or discrimination.”
NAF
Kandy Ferree, President and CEO of the National AIDS Fund, commented by phone as she entered the White House for the reception following the unveiling. “This is truly groundbreaking,” she said. “I am thrilled and grateful for the leadership of the President.”
When asked about the issue of funding the implementation of the strategy, she said, “It’s critical to understand that neither the federal government nor the private sector can do it alone. The President has sent a call out to the private sector to come together with governmental and community leaders to truly be partners in carrying this forward.”
She noted that one of the main objectives of the National AIDS Fund is to bring together funders from a variety of sectors and she appreciates that the President understands the complexities involved in creating those partnerships.
NMAC
Paul Kawata, Executive Director of the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) responded to the National AIDS Strategy by acknowledging the history being made as President Obama became the first president to create a national HIV/AIDS strategy. Kawata called the plan aggressive and said it was a “solid first step.”
However, he also pointed out that, “without the funds to carry out the President’s ambitious agenda, this falls significantly short of a strategy. The blueprint is most certainly there… but now our collective attention must shift to resources.” He continued, “Now the conversation must turn to implementation—and how we fund such an audacious goal. To ignore the difficult topic of HIV/AIDS funding would be tantamount to placing the President’s strategy in a shredder.”
SFAF
Barbara Kimport, interim CEO of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, said, “This is an important and long-overdue victory for the HIV/AIDS community that can lead to dramatic progress against HIV/AIDS in the United States—now, the really hard work begins.”
“Nearly three decades into the epidemic, the National HIV/AIDS Strategy revitalizes efforts to end AIDS in the United States, and sets the stage for coordination and collaboration like never before,” said Dr. Judith Auerbach, Vice President of Science and Public Policy at SFAF. “This plan represents the work of thousands of individuals whose leadership and input over the last three years helped it take shape. Now it is up to all of us to ensure its full funding and implementation and hold our government accountable for progress under the plan.”
SIECUS
“This is a promising move forward, and we are grateful to President Obama and his administration, particularly those in the Office of National AIDS Policy, for implementing such a crucial new initiative,” said Joseph DiNorcia, Jr., President and CEO of the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS). “We are also pleased to see a preliminary mention of, and commitment to, evidence-based sex education as an integral part of HIV prevention, and we hope to continue to work with the administration to achieve this goal.”
According to recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 10-15% of youth are not learning about HIV/AIDS in school, and over half of HIV-infected adolescents do not know their infection status. However, teens and young adults are still not listed among the beneficiaries of the resources that will be reallocated by the NHAS, even though a quarter of new infections are occurring in young people between the ages of 13-29.
“The intent behind the strategy, in its attempt to more efficiently target and deploy resources, is a good one,” DiNorcia continued. “However, it’s also clear that more spending for prevention and treatment will be necessary for this program to succeed. The issue is not just that funding is being misallocated; it’s that the money isn’t there to begin with. We call on appropriators in Congress to begin implementation of the strategy by shifting resources to meet the priorities of this new strategy.”
TPAN
Bill Farrand, CEO of Test Positive Aware Network, said, “It’s definitely a step in the right direction, though it’s a process that will have to continue to evolve to meet the demands of the epidemic.” As a participant in the community input meetings as the strategy was being formed, he added, “We’re certainly grateful to have the President’s attention and to have the issue of HIV/AIDS brought into the national spotlight and, hopefully, the awareness of the American public.”
Jeff Berry, editor of Positively Aware and member of the Fair Pricing Coalition (FPC) and the AIDS Treatment Activists Coalition (ATAC), commented, “The Strategy is a great place to start and everyone who worked on it over the last 15 months should be proud of their accomplishment. Now we need to make sure the momentum isn’t lost and that work continues to ensure full funding and implementation of the plan. Any strategy is only as good as its end result and we can’t know when we’ll see that, if ever. But significant progress and change is possible and we should keep at it with the same focus and determination that went into the creation of the Strategy.”
Conclusion
Consensus among those commenting on the strategy seems to be that the success of the plan will depend on it being backed up by appropriate funding, perhaps from a variety of sources, and the will, political and otherwise, to implement it according to the steps laid out in the strategy. One thing is certain—there will be no “quick fix,” no “mission accomplished” within a few months’ time. “Bringing this strategy to life,” as Dr. Howard Koh put it, will involve the continued collaboration of all the stakeholders; the cooperation of federal, state, and local governing bodies; the innovation of medical science and research; and, perhaps most importantly, the willingness of the people most at risk or already living with HIV/AIDS to be educated and pro-active in protecting themselves and their communities from further spread of the disease.
