HIV/AIDS
Though strides have been made in 2009, such as the signing of the reauthorization of the Ryan White HIV Treatment Act and the lifting of the discriminatory ban on travel and immigration to the United States by HIV-positive individuals, much work remains to be done on HIV/AIDS. As the Task Force’s statement on World AIDS Day 2009 noted, every 9 ½ minutes someone contracts HIV in the United States. Every day more than 150 people in the U.S. contract the virus. Said Rea Carey, Task Force executive director:
“World AIDS Day 2009 dawns with signs of hope that our federal response to the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic will move forward with dedication to ending the crisis…In addition to treatment access and the lifting of the HIV travel ban, we also need prevention education that specifically targets our most vulnerable people. We need comprehensive sexuality education that shows and tells how to protect ourselves against infection. We need a funded public education campaign to combat the discrimination and stigma experienced by those who seek testing and treatment. We need federal funding for syringe exchange programs. And yes, we still need a coordinated national strategy to identify initiatives and approaches to end the epidemic.” Read the full statement here.
Meanwhile, HIV/AIDS took center stage at the 2009 Creating Change conference with top leaders in the movement delivering a stirring series of speeches at the panel HIV/AIDS Crisis: This Is What We’re Doing About It! Watch it below:
