White House Releases Report on AIDS Meetings

The long-awaited National HIV/AIDS Strategy remains under development, but on April 9the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) released an interim update on its progress.

The 76-page publication, "Community Ideas for Improving the Response to the Domestic HIV Epidemic," summarizes recommendations made during a 14-city listening tour that ONAP Director Jeffrey Crowley kicked off last summer at CDC's National HIV Prevention Conference in Atlanta.

Following his appointment last spring, Crowley said he hoped to have a draft of the national strategy available for public comment by the end of 2009. There now is speculation the plan may be published in May.

"It's great they're continuing to keep us updated," said Christine Campbell, vice president of advocacy and organizing at New York City-based Housing Works. "Hopefully next time we'll have more information to work with and see if community input is really being taken into effect."

The update "underscores the needs for the domestic epidemic," said Ronald Johnson of AIDS Action. Johnson said that although the Obama administration had consistently signaled that the community should not expect any major expansion of funding, "our duty as advocates is to say what is needed and push for adequate resources."

To access the report, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ONAP_rpt.pdf.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


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