Obama Administration Plans National Strategy To Combat HIV/AIDS

On Tuesday, the Obama administration is expected to unveil the first-ever coordinated national strategy to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reducing HIV infections and HIV-related health disparities, increasing care quality and expanding access to services, The Hill's "Healthwatch" reports (Pecquet, "Healthwatch," The Hill, 7/10).

More than 1.1 million U.S. residents are HIV-positive, and about 56,000 individuals contract HIV annually, the administration said.

Changes to Current Strategy

The government currently spends $19 billion annually on domestic HIV/AIDS programs, and the strategy does not call for a significant boost in federal funding, the New York Times reports.

Instead, the plan redirects financial resources to the highest-risk areas and population groups, including blacks, gay and bisexual men and states with the highest "burden of disease."

To increase quality of life for individuals living with HIV/AIDS and to prevent proliferation of the disease, the administration has proposed that by 2015:

• The annual number of new HIV infections be reduced by 25%;
• The HIV transmission rate be reduced by 30%;
• The proportion of patients accessing care within three months of diagnosis increase from the current 65% to 85%; and
• The number of infected individuals aware of their HIV status increase from the current rate of 79% to 90%.

Development of Initiative

The administration took 15 months to develop the strategy, which comes amid growing dissatisfaction of advocacy groups and state governments about federal attention and funding to HIV/AIDS programs (Pear, New York Times, 7/11).

However, advocates thus far have lauded the strategy as a key investment that could rekindle the sense of urgency of the epidemic and act as a catalyst for a simplified patient treatment experience (Steadman, Kaiser Health News, 7/12).

Chris Collins, vice president and policy director for the Foundation for AIDS Research, said that he is hopeful that the strategy will "point us to a reformed and more effective effort on the domestic epidemic" ("Healthwatch," The Hill, 7/10).