In advance of World AIDS Day on December 1st, the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law has released two new reports on emerging HIV issues in the United States, including policy ideas for states and local communities and for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.

Big Ideas: Leveraging the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to Make Rapid Start of HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Standard Practice
The report offers recommendations for the HIV/AIDS Bureau (a part of the Health Resources & Services Administration) that administers the Ryan White Program in three key areas to support the adoption of rapid start: providing critical leadership by prioritizing rapid start, expediting eligibility for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (which provides affordable access to antiretroviral therapy or ART) and offering immediate starter courses of medication, and supporting practice transformation to facilitate clinics offering rapid start.

Big Ideas: State and Local ‘End the Epidemic’ Plans Can Drive HIV Progress.
This brief encourages states and local jurisdictions to develop ‘End the Epidemic’ plans, by highlighting innovative features of leading state and local efforts. This report spotlights four elements of effective HIV plans: partnerships between governments and communities, strategic responses with a small number of clear objectives, metrics to push states and communities to achieve tough goals and be held accountable for results, and innovation to keep improving on the tools available to better support people living with HIV and to prevent new HIV infections. Additional recommendations include ensuring access to PrEP (Pre-exposure Prophylaxis) and PEP (Post-exposure Prophylaxis), along with new efforts to promote rapid start of treatment and improve retention and re-engagement in HIV care.

Read this press release and browse the reports to learn more.