Comprehensive Strategy Needed for HIV/AIDS Research, Prevention and Treatment
WASHINGTON—May 13, 2009—amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, and Research!America called for development of a comprehensive National AIDS Strategy today at the landmark Capitol Hill conference "Future Directions in the Fight Against HIV/AIDS," which brought together leaders in the HIV/AIDS research and advocacy communities.
"For every person treated for HIV around the world, as many as three new people are infected," said Susan Blumenthal, MD, conference chair and a former U.S. assistant surgeon general who serves as senior policy and medical adviser for amfAR. "We're at a historic crossroads in the epidemic where through urgent action guided by research and evidence-based public policies, we can break that cycle."
"HIV/AIDS research is leading us down new and exciting paths, and we're more optimistic now than ever, but we have far to go," said amfAR CEO Kevin Robert Frost. "We call on President Obama and Congress to help develop and implement a comprehensive National AIDS Strategy to reduce HIV infection in the U.S. and around the world, to expand access to treatment and care, and to accelerate progress toward a preventive vaccine and a cure for HIV/AIDS."
Among the measures called for by amfAR are targeted HIV prevention and treatment intervention methods to vulnerable populations, in addition to increased investments in research.
Mary Woolley, Research!America president and CEO, said, "It's time for real leadership from Washington to increase our federal investment in all areas of research, including HIV/AIDS. We must give our public health system the resources to better promulgate the AIDS prevention and education methods that research has shown to be effective. And while we must expand our nation's investment in global HIV/AIDS programs, we cannot forget that AIDS is still, sadly, very much an American epidemic."
Frost, Woolley and Blumenthal were joined at the conference by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; House Majority Whip James Clyburn; Washington, DC, Mayor Adrian Fenty; Jeffrey Crowley, MPH, director of the White House National Office of AIDS Policy; Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and Earvin "Magic" Johnson, HIV/AIDS activist and NBA Hall of Famer.
For more details on the conference and its Call to Action, visit www.amfar.org.
amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, is one of the world's leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to the support of AIDS research, HIV prevention, treatment education, and the advocacy of sound AIDS-related public policy. Since 1985, amfAR has invested more than $290 million in its programs and has awarded grants to more than 2,000 research teams worldwide.
Research!America is the nation's largest not-for-profit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by 500 member organizations representing 125 million Americans. Visit www.researchamerica.org.
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