Posted December 2011

HIVMA Chair Judith A. Aberg, MD, FIDSA, issued the following statement on December 1, 2011 in response to President Obama making new commitments to domestic and global AIDS, including putting six million people with HIV on treatment globally by 2013, increasing up to 1.5 million the number of pregnant women with access to HIV treatment, and directing $35 million in new resources to the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program and $15 million to Ryan White Part C. Details are available in the White House Fact Sheet: The Beginning of the End of AIDS. Additional World AIDS Day news from HIVMA is available online at www.hivma.org/World_AIDS_Day/.

President Obama Sets Course for Dramatically Reducing the Impact of HIV Disease

Statement from HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) Chair Judith A. Aberg, MD, FIDSA

Today President Obama made a bold and important move in combating HIV disease by announcing a new initiative that commits to putting six million people with HIV on treatment globally by 2013 and investing much needed new resources in HIV care and treatment through the Ryan White Program. The president’s new initiative is a critical step toward achieving the “AIDS-free generation” envisioned last month in a speech by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

We are at a pivotal moment in the HIV pandemic where the science shows a clear path for making serious headway against HIV disease. It is well documented that with early and reliable access to HIV care and treatment, people with HIV disease can lead healthy and productive lives. Findings from the National Institutes of Health HPTN 052 study early this year offered clear evidence that in addition to benefiting the HIV-infected individual, HIV treatment also significantly reduces the risk of transmitting HIV infection.
As we mark World AIDS Day and the 30th year since the first documented AIDS cases, we commend the president, and others, like the New York City Health Department, for advancing a comprehensive, evidence-based response to this deadly disease. New York City announced today a change in policy recommending all patients with HIV be offered treatment regardless of their CD4 count, a standard measure of the strength of the immune system.

We now turn to the U.S. Congress to do their part by ensuring that the Affordable Care Act is fully implemented and funded, investing in HIV care and treatment through the Ryan White AIDS Drug Assistance Program and Part C, and sustaining funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. We also call on other heads of state around the world to follow the president’s lead by investing in AIDS now to put us firmly on course for the beginning of the end of the AIDS pandemic.

The HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA) is the professional home for more than 4,700 physicians, scientists, and other health care professionals dedicated to the field of HIV/AIDS. Nested within the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), HIVMA promotes quality in HIV care and advocates policies that ensure a comprehensive and humane response to the AIDS pandemic informed by science and social justice. For more information, visit www.hivma.org.

Also read the Ryan White Medical Providers Coalition World AIDS Day statement (PDF).