The below information was cross-posted from a press release from the O’Neill Institute.
As HIV/AIDS advocacy groups prepare to gather for AIDSWatch, the nation’s largest annual constituent-based national HIV/AIDS advocacy event, policy experts from the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law have issued a new report outlining the impact federal investments have on preventing new HIV infections.
With data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documenting an 18 percent decline in new HIV infections in the United States from 2008 to 2014, the report, “Federal Investments are Saving Lives and Strengthening Communities,” details the history of HIV prevention in the U.S. from the earliest years to today and identifies priority areas where more innovation is needed for forward progress in reducing HIV as a public health threat.
The issue brief examines the dynamic nature of the HIV epidemic in the United States to assess what our country has accomplished, where things stand, and where continued federal leadership and funding are needed to keep reducing the size and scope of the HIV epidemic. The new report tracks the history of the prevention response and describes the scientific evidence underpinning the nation’s current approach to preventing new infections, called “High Impact Prevention.” By assessing current opportunities and challenges, the report states that federal investments must support continuing innovation to:
- Integrate surveillance and clinical care data systems;
- Interrupt HIV transmission within sexual and drug-using networks;
- Improve the tailoring and integration of services to the highest need communities;
- Develop long-acting prevention and therapeutic options; and
- Promote jurisdictional plans to end HIV as a public health threat.
View the report to learn more.
