Focus, Partner, Achieve: US Government in Action for World AIDS Day 2014

World AIDS Day brings staff from across the U.S. Government together to reflect on and extend our contributions to the response to the HIV/AIDS pandemic—both at home and internationally. We wanted you to be aware of key Federal activities for World AIDS Day 2014.White HouseOn December 1, the White House hosted a World AIDS Day event featuring key figures in the global response to the epidemic. Please read this blog post by Douglas Brooks, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, for in-depth coverage of the event. Also on World AIDS Day, the White House released a progress report on implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Read the report, Update of 2014 Federal Actions to Achieve National Goals and Improve Outcomes Along the HIV Care ContinuumWe also encourage you to watch and share President Obama’s World AIDS Day video messageExit Disclaimer and the Presidential proclamation.

PEPFARPEPFAR observed World AIDS Day with the release of new data on its efforts and information about new initiatives and partnerships targeted to key populations:

• PEPFAR’s new human resources for health strategy includes a $116.5 million investment that will strengthen the capacity of health workers across Africa to address HIV/AIDS and other health threats.
• PEPFAR announced several partnerships:
  • A $210 million initiative to reduce new HIV infections in adolescent girls and young women in up to 10 countries, through a partnership between the State Department, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Nike Foundation.
  • A $200 million effort with the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation—the Accelerating Children’s HIV/AIDS Treatment (ACT) Initiative—over the next two years to double the number of children receiving antiretroviral treatment in 10 countries.
  • A collaboration with the Pediatric HIV Treatment Initiative and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria on the Global Pediatric Antiretroviral Commitment-to-Action, which aims to accelerate the development of new high-priority pediatric antiretroviral treatments by 2017.
  • A $21.5 million partnership with the Millennium Challenge Corporation to advance the U.S. government’s effort to ensure data openness and transparency. The project will establish country-based, country-driven local data hubs to improve strategic planning, quality of care, and ultimately, health outcomes. Additional data are now available on the PEPFAR Dashboards.
• PEPFAR also released a new report titled PEPFAR 3.0 – Controlling the Epidemic: Delivering on the Promise of an AIDS-free Generation . The report documents the program’s progress and unveils PEPFAR’s strategy for working with partners to achieve an AIDS-free generation.

Affordable Care Act(ACA)World AIDS Day allowed Federal departments/agencies to highlight opportunities for persons living with or risk for HIV/AIDS to get covered, get care, and stay healthy.

On November 24, HIV.gov hosted a national webinar on the importance of the ACA for people living with HIV (PLWH). The event was targeted to stakeholders serving disproportionately affected communities and featured speakers from key Federal domestic HIV programs to highlight how the ACA benefits PLWH, and inspire stakeholders to recognize World AIDS Day and to support efforts to enroll people living with or at risk for HIV in health coverage available through the Affordable Care Act’s Health Insurance Marketplace during the current open enrollment period.

Key Federal Activities

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a new issue of Vital Signs, which contains new data on the HIV epidemic in the United States.
• The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) released a white paper: HIV Care Continuum: The Connection Between Housing and Improved Outcomes Along the HIV Care ContinuumExit Disclaimer .

HIV.govHIV.gov offered blogs, tweets, photos, Facebook and Instagram posts, and materials to commemorate World AIDS Day and to engage others in observing it. Those efforts included:

• A video by Dr. Ronald Valdiserri which explains the Federal theme for 2014: Focus, Partner, Achieve: An AIDS-Free Generation
• Daily tips on event ideas for World AIDS Day on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook
• Multiple blog posts, including those announcing the Vital Signs data release, and guest blogs by: Dr. Shannon Hader, Director of CDC’s Division of Global HIV/AIDS; David Stanton, Director of the Office of HIV/AIDS at USAID; and a post by FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg and Ambassador Jimmy Kolker from the HHS Office of Global Affairs.

World AIDS Day is the foremost observance for those working on, living with, affected by, or at risk for HIV—and it also sets the stage for all the national HIV/AIDS Awareness Days and our collective work every day. How will you focus, partner, and achieve in the year ahead?