AIDS 2012 Satellite: From Revolution to Reality: How Will New Science Impact the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy?
Attending AIDS 2012? Please put this great satellite on your conference agenda! It's free and open to the public.
From Revolution to Reality: How Will New Science Impact the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy?
AIDS 2012 Conference Satellite - Free and open to the public
Sunday, July 22, 2012, 11:15 AM -1:15 PM
Mini Room 4, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington, DC
Hosted by the Coalition for a National HIV/AIDS Strategy
Moderator: Marjorie J. Hill, PhD, CEO, GMHC
Presenters include (list still in formation):
- Carlos del Rio, MD, Hubert Professor and Chair, Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University: Treatment Cascade
- Keith R. Green, MSW, Director of Federal Affairs, AIDS Foundation of Chicago: PrEP and the NHAS
- David R. Holtgrave, PhD, Chair, Department of Health Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health: Costs, Consequences and Feasibility of Achieving the NHAS Goals
- Molly Morgan Jones, PhD, Senior Analyst, RAND Europe: Mapping Pathways: Exploring strategies in the use of ARV-based prevention
The U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) has been in place for two years, and since its release, scientific breakthroughs and new research have transformed our thinking about the US HIV epidemic. HPTN 052 and successful PrEP and microbicide trials demonstrate that biomedical interventions hold promise that were unthinkable just 2 years ago.
At the same time, Gardner and his coauthors shine a spotlight on the human factors impacting the epidemic-half of people with HIV are not in medical care, and just 1 in 4 achieves treatment success. Key researchers, including some who contributed to these breakthrough findings, will weigh in on the implications of new research on the US strategy.
This session will be immediately followed by the satellite session, "Achieving the Goals of the United States National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Next steps", organized by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
This symposium is conducted in collaboration with and funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb with no editorial review of content.
NHAS at AIDS 2012
Sunday, July 22, the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy hosted the AIDS 2012 conference satellite “From Revolution to Reality: How Will New Science Impact the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy?”, supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb (with no editorial discretion over content).
We have a few take-aways from the session:
- Despite the FDA’s recent approval of an HIV medication for PrEP, it will be a while before PrEP is widely used and has an impact on the epidemic. There are still more questions than answers. Keith Green’s presentation has more.
- There are just as many questions about the role of antiretroviral-based HIV prevention strategies, from PrEP to treatment as prevention to microbicides. Molly Morgan Jones and the Mapping Pathways team gave an excellent presentation on their work gathering insights from across the globe on expert attitudes towards ARV-base prevention.
- Dr. Carlos del Rio's presentation touched on the challenges of engaging people in care and retaining them in care. The “social determinants of treatment” – substance abuse and mental health treatment, housing, and transportation – are critical to engagement in care. Although there is a debate on when to start treatment (as soon as someone is diagnosed, or based on immune system health), it’s largely irrelevant because when most people are diagnosed, their CD4 count is already so low that they need treatment. Dr. del Rio noted that there are no evidence-based programs to retain people in care (although some federally-funded studies may soon show results). And finally, we will have no ability to measure progress towards the NHAS goals until we implement the IOM monitoring report.
- Dr. David Holtgrave in his presentation highlighted his recent paper analyzing if it is still possible to achieve the goals of the NHAS. A combination of testing, expansion, care expansion, and prevention with positives would be the most cost-effective mix of interventions. The good news, however, is that based on the epidemiology, it’s possible to reach these goals with an investment of $13-$17 billion in new resources would be needed, starting in October 2012 (the beginning for federal fiscal year 2013).
For advocates who press government leaders for new resources, Holtgrave’s presentation is a roadmap for the arguments we need to make to elected officials. He tells us how much funding is needed and how it should be spent. Now it’s our jobs to deliver the message to our elected officials that progress against HIV/AIDS is possible - through events like AIDS United's Legislative Action Week. No one else is going to do it for us.
The National HIV/AIDS Strategy at Two: The Beginnings of Reform, and a Glimpse of Success
Check out this great Huffington Post piece by Chris Collins of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research. Chris is a founding member of 
the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy, and, well, we couldn't agree more with what he has to say:
Five years ago, hundreds of organizations signed a call to action demanding a more accountable, coordinated, and outcomes-oriented approach to tackling AIDS in America. It called for setting clear targets for progress, increasing collaboration, and focusing on hardest hit populations.
What we saw five years ago was a patchwork effort: people and organizations doing great work in countless ways, but ultimately not focused collectively on getting the job done. Today, a lot has changed for the good -- in science, policy, and in evidence of success. On the second anniversary of this country's first comprehensive National HIV/AIDS Strategy, it's worth thinking about what has gone right, and where we go next.
You’re Invited! AIDS in America panel session at the 2012 International AIDS Conference
If you're coming to the AIDS 2012 conference later this month, add this great session to your agenda! Hear from HIV/AIDS advocates from all over the country and learn how actions taken by the Congress and the Obama administration are impacting implementation of the Strategy.
Who: AIDS in America
What: “Achieving the Goals of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy: A Community Perspective”
When: Thursday, July 26, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Mini Room 10 Washington, DC, Session ID number: 1519
RSVP to: RSVP@theaidsinstitute.org
Discussion will focus on:
• availability of resources to carry out prevention, care, treatment and research programs
• policy positions on issues including health care reform and the ability to carry out scientific-based prevention programs
• the needs of specific populations most impacted by HIV and if they are being addressed
• the role of the private sector and philanthropy in achieving the goals of the Strategy
• potential obstacles that can derail implementation of the Strategy
• suggestions on how the goals can be achieved
Research explores whether NHAS goals can be met by 2015
Check out this fantastic new research paper by coalition member David Holtgrave, PhD and Chair of Department of Health Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Holtgrave explores whether goals set out in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy are feasible using current levels of diagnostic and prevention services for people living with HIV/AIDS. He concludes that without expansion of testing and prevention, the goal of linking 85% of people living with HIV/AIDS to care will not be met. If the expansion happens, however, the goal can be achieved in a cost-effective manner by 2015.
Read the abstract here, and find the entire paper, which is open access, here.
AIDS 2012 Satelite: “Achieving the Goals of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Future Directions”
The international AIDS conference AIDS 2012 is just around the corner! People from around the globe seeking to end the AIDS epidemic will travel to Washington, D.C. for this event from July 22-27.
If you’re attending the conference, please join the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which will hold a satellite meeting entitled “Achieving the Goals of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Future Directions” on Sunday, July 22. During this two-hour session, community, state and federal partners will share updates on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy’s (NHAS) implementation, accomplishments to date, challenges, and future directions.
The HHS satellite will take place right after the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy session.
Who: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, represented by Andrew D. Forsyth, Ph.D., Senior Science Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy
What: Achieving the Goals of the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Future Directions satellite meeting
When: Sunday, July 22, 13:30 – 15:30 ( 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.) Eastern Time
Where: Walter E. Washington Convention Center (WCC), Session Room 9
See the list of speakers
Read more on the AIDS.gov blog