More Than 100 Organizations Call for a National AIDS Strategy to End the Epidemic in the Uni...( Strategies to address the nation'...),Health

Strategies to address the nation's largest public health challenges, including AIDS, should be part of Presidential candidates' national health

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 100 organizations from across the country are calling for the next President to commit to ending the AIDS epidemic in America. They have requested that every Presidential candidate commit to developing a results-oriented national AIDS strategy designed to significantly reduce HIV infection rates, ensure access to care and treatment for those who are infected and eliminate racial disparities. The groups issued a "Call to Action" that has been presented to all Presidential candidates. The Call to Action and a list of supporters is available at http://www.nationalaidsstrategy.org.

"More than 1.7 million HIV infections and over half a million deaths into the domestic AIDS epidemic, our government still does not have a comprehensive plan to respond effectively," said Rebecca Haag, Executive Director of AIDS Action. "The wealthiest nation in the world is failing its own people in responding to the AIDS epidemic at home. Our country must develop what it asks of other nations it supports in combating AIDS: a comprehensive national strategy to achieve improved and more equitable results."

The Call to Action asserts that the lack of an outcome-based response to HIV domestically has lead to unacceptable results: half of people with HIV are not in care, there is a new infection every 13 minutes, infection rates have not fallen in more than 15 years, and dramatic racial disparities are becoming even more pronounced.

"America's response to AIDS is not serving those most in need," said Phill Wilson, Executive Director of the Black AIDS Institute. "We cannot make significant progress on national AIDS statistics unless government and community eff
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