What is Global-Domestic Bidirectional HIV Work About?

The U.S. government carries out its commitment to fostering excellence across all federally supported programs each day, including a focus on ending HIV/AIDS in programs within the U.S. and abroad. Remarkable progress has been achieved, building on decades of progress in HIV research, prevention, and care, with new knowledge being gained as innovations and interventions evolve over time. Bidirectional learning is a purposeful commitment to exchange best practices and experiences gained while implementing policy, programs, new innovations, and research in delivering U.S.-funded domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs.

There is much to share from the experiences of implementers on the ground, with communities and planners continually learning from each other. The opportunity to formally bring this learning together in structured approaches is a necessary and rewarding activity to ensure the ongoing integration of best practices and new science into effective programs and policies that support continued progress.

Commitment to Shared Learning

To promote this cultural shift towards greater shared learning across federal agencies, the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Global Affairs (OGA) and Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP), and the Department of State’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), have brought together federal staff across these agencies for bidirectional learning about innovative strategies, best practices, and lessons learned to continually improve HIV/AIDS service delivery.

Recent activities have included:

• November 2023 – Webinar: Bidirectional Perspectives on Innovations to Align and Advance Health Equity in HIV Priority PopulationsExit Disclaimer
• August 2023 – Webinar: Integrating Mental Health into HIV Prevention, Care, and TreatmentExit Disclaimer
• January 2023 – Full-day virtual Global Domestic HIV Bidirectional Learning Forum for 200 federal staff implementing U.S. domestic and global HIV/AIDS programs
• Fall 2022 – Health Resources and Services Administration intra-agency collaborative forum across global/domestic HIV programs
• October 2022 – NIH/Fogarty International 3-day Global Health Reciprocal Innovations Workshop
• July 2022 – Satellite Session on Bi-Directional Learning at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) 
• June 2019 – HHS Global-Domestic HIV Meeting: Successes and Challenges Reaching the 95- 95-95 Goals

Interagency HIV/AIDS Collaboration

Thirteen federal offices and agencies are working together to foster bidirectional learning by applying their experiences in translating goals into programs on the ground.

A Technical Planning Committee comprised of representatives of both domestic and global programs collaborates to plan and guide this work. Members of this committee represent:

• White House Office of National AIDS Policy
• HHS Office of Global Affairs
• HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Department of Defense
• Food and Drug Administration
• Health Resources and Services Administration
• Indian Health Service
• National Institutes of Health
• Peace Corps
• State Department’s Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• U.S. Agency for International Development