No comprehensive plan guides strategic use of
AIDS-related dollars or holds government agencies
accountable for steadily improved outcomes.
thanks to lifefube for the heads up on this one! And I would just like to add that just because people are not dying the way they did 20 years ago, in no way is it acceptable that people are seroconverting at the rate they still are. especially in the gay men's community. in some circles i have heard that it is inevitable that all men will be poz by the time they are 60. I wholeheartedly say "poppycock". this is absurd. that's something the "focus on the family" camp would spout, but not my own locker room. and it's pretty obvious that just nodding to wrapping ourselves in latex isn't the most effective strategy.
Call for a National AIDS Strategy for the US
AIDS is a national crisis. The next President of the U.S. should develop a results-oriented AIDS strategy.
The wealthiest nation in the world is failing its own people in responding to the AIDS epidemic at home. Consider that in the U.S.:
Every year, 40,000 people are newly infected with HIV. The HIV infection rate has not fallen in 15 years.
Over a million people are living with HIV. In 2002, an estimated half of people living with HIV/AIDS were not in care.
African Americans represent 13% of the population but nearly half of all new HIV infections. In 2004, HIV/AIDS was the leading cause of death among black women ages 25 - 34.
The unsatisfactory outcomes from our country’s response to AIDS have serious human and economic costs. A study published in 2003 found that failure to meet the government’s then goal of reducing HIV infections by half would lead to $18 billion in excess expenses through 2010.
The U.S. must develop what it asks of other nations it supports in combating AIDS: a national strategy to achieve improved and more equitable results.
To be effective, a national AIDS strategy should…
Improve prevention and treatment outcomes through reliance on evidence-based programming
Set ambitious and credible prevention and treatment targets and require annual reporting on progress towards goals
Identify clear priorities for action across federal agencies and assign responsibilities and timelines for follow-through
Include, as a primary focus, the prevention and treatment needs of African Americans, other communities of color, gay men of all races, and other groups at elevated risk
Address social factors that increase vulnerability to infection
Promote a strengthened HIV prevention and treatment research effort
Involve many sectors in developing the national strategy: government, business, community, civil rights organizations, faith based groups, researchers, and people living with HIV/AIDS
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