Hey Everyone,
So much is going on in our Leadership Hyacinth Groups. We have just finished training a group in New Brunswick. So we now have 2 groups who have completed the new 201 curriculum, and 2 groups who are in the process of completing it. This site is a way for all of you to get to know each other over the web. So please leave comments and start discussions with each other.
I have posted some important information regarding President- Elect Obama's National AIDS Strategy. I will also be creating a letter for Hyacinth, as well as all of you to send out to the President-Elect Obama stating our support for his strategy and our commitment to make sure this strategy is implemented properly. Remember that we must stay current with what he and his administration are doing in Washington.
HIV/AIDS IN AMERICA
Implement a National HIV/AIDS Strategy: President-elect Barack Obama has pledged that, in the first year of his presidency, he will develop and begin to implement a comprehensive national HIV/AIDS strategy that includes all federal agencies. The strategy will be designed to reduce HIV infections, increase access to care and reduce HIV-related health disparities. His strategy will include measurable goals, timelines and accountability mechanisms. Obama passed legislation in Illinois to require public service announcements promoting HIV/AIDS screening. As president, Obama will continue to increase awareness of the disease.
Fix the Nation’s Health Care System: Nearly 46 million Americans are uninsured in this country. President-elect Barack Obama is committed to signing universal health care legislation by the end of his first term in office that ensures all Americans have high-quality, affordable health care coverage. The Obama-Biden health plan will save a typical American family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenditures by providing affordable, comprehensive and portable health coverage for every American; modernizing the U.S. health care system to contain spiraling health care costs and improve the quality of patient care; and promoting prevention and strengthening public health to prevent disease and protect against natural and man-made disasters. The Obama-Biden plan will ensure that people living with HIV have access to lifesaving treatment and care. Bring Medicaid Coverage to Low-Income, HIV-Positive Americans: Obama is a cosponsor of the Early Treatment for HIV Act, which would help provide Medicaid coverage to more low-income, HIV-positive Americans. The bill would also increase the number of people who receive the medications necessary to treat HIV infections.
Fight Disparities in Minority Communities: HIV/AIDS has hit some communities harder than others. For example, while African Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. population, they make up 49 percent of new HIV/AIDS cases. AIDS is the leading cause of death of African American women aged 25-34, and the third leading cause of death of African American men in the same age group. In 2005, 64 percent of women living with HIV/AIDS were black. In our nation’s capital alone, African Americans account for 81 percent of new reports of HIV cases and about 86 percent of people with AIDS. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden are committed to targeting resources to promote innovative HIV/AIDS testing initiatives in minority communities and partnering with a wide-range of community leaders from churches to community organizations. But we must also tackle the scourge of poverty where HIV and AIDS proliferate. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will continue to fight poverty and homelessness, key drivers of this epidemic. We need to better target care for people in communities of color, where the disease is moving most quickly. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will tackle the root causes of health disparities by addressing differences in access to health insurance coverage and promoting prevention and public health, both of which play a major role in addressing disparities. They will also challenge the medical system to eliminate inequities in health care through quality measurement and reporting, implementation of effective interventions such as patient navigation programs and diversification of the health workforce.
Improve Quality of Life for Those Living with HIV/AIDS: President-elect Barack Obama is a strong supporter of the Ryan White Care Act (RWCA), which provides critical access to life-saving treatment and care for over half a million low-income Americans with HIV/AIDS. The RWCA is one of the largest sources of federal funds for primary health care and support services for patients with HIV/AIDS. The bill was named after Ryan White, an Indiana teenager whose courageous struggle with HIV/AIDS helped educate the nation. Throughout the recent reauthorization of the RWCA, Obama worked closely with RWCA service providers, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the Illinois Department of Public Health to analyze and find ways to improve the program for Illinois and for the nation. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will continue to protect the multifaceted care upon which RWCA beneficiaries depend.
Promote AIDS Prevention: In addition to assuring access to treatment, President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden believe we need to increase the focus on preventing new infections. We cannot keep pace with treatment needs if we don’t also focus on prevention. This means pursuing a strategy that relies on sound science and builds on what works. President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden support comprehensive sex education that is age-appropriate. They support increasing federal appropriations for science-based HIV prevention programs. They support the JUSTICE Act, which would prevent transmission of HIV within the incarcerated population. They also support legislation that would lift the ban on federal funding for needle exchange as a strategy to reduce HIV transmission among injection drug users and their partners and children. Assure Adequate and Safe Housing for Those Living With HIV: President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden support increased funding for Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS (HOPWA) and other pertinent housing programs. These programs aim to assure that adequate and safe housing is available for all disabled and low-income people with HIV/AIDS in the U.S.
Expand Funding for Research: President-elect Barack Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will expand funding for research, especially for prevention options including a vaccine and microbicides. Microbicides are a class of products currently under development that women apply topically to prevent transmission of HIV and other infections. President-elect Barack Obama led an effort with Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and others to introduce the Microbicide Development Act, which will accelerate the development of products that empower women in the battle against AIDS. In the United States, the percentage of women diagnosed with AIDS has quadrupled over the last 20 years. Today, women account for more than one quarter of all new HIV/AIDS diagnoses.
Expand Access to HIV/AIDS Testing for Pregnant Women: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that voluntary HIV screening be included in the routine panel of prenatal screening tests for all pregnant women. In the Illinois State Senate, President-elect Barack Obama sponsored the successful Prenatal HIV Prevention Act, which ensures that every health care professional who provides health care services to a pregnant woman will provide HIV counseling and offer HIV testing. He also passed legislation in Illinois requiring that insurance coverage under the Illinois Insurance Code, Health Maintenance Organization Act and the Voluntary Health Services Plans Act include coverage of prenatal HIV testing.
