National AIDS Strategy’s taking a road trip… to see you!
***UPDATE***
Download this worksheet to help you prepare your town hall testimony!
If you live in Alabama, Washington or Pennsylvania, you're in luck! The White House Office of National AIDS Policy is going on a road trip, and they're coming to see you.
ONAP announced today that registration has opened for three upcoming dialogues on implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Details are below and you can read more and sign up here.
Birmingham: Incorporating Prevention and Care Research Into HIV Programs
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Time: 2:00 – 4:30 pm
Location: Alys Robinson Stephens Performing Arts Center, University of Alabama, B 1200 10th Ave. S. Birmingham, AL
Seattle: Building Capacity within the HIV Workforce so that it Delivers What We Need Today and Tomorrow
Date: Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Time: 5:30 – 8:00 pm
Location: Swedish Medical Center, Glaser Auditorium, 747 Broadway, Seattle, WA
Philly: Sustaining the Community-Based Response to HIV
Date: Thursday, October 20, 2011
Time: 3:00 – 5:30 pm (new time)
Location: University of Pennsylvania, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, Dhirubhai Ambani Auditorium, 3730 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
AIDS.gov: HHS consults community on funding to implement the Strategy
Many of you asked the $64,000 questions when the National HIV/AIDS Strategy was released: "How's it going to be funded?"
You asked, and President Obama responded. In the budget the President proposed for next federal fiscal year, the Administration asked Congress to set aside 1% of the Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) HIV funding for Strategy implementation.
In June 2011, HHS brought together community and government stakeholders recommendations how the implementation funding should be used. A top HHS official, Dr. Ron Valdisari, posted an extensive summary of the meeting over at AIDS.gov. Here's a snippet:
Proposed National HIV/AIDS Strategy Implementation Fund
By Ronald Valdiserri, M.D., M.P.H., Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Because the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) is a priority endeavor for the U.S. government, when the President released his Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12) budget proposal in February of this year, he proposed a special fund to support the implementation of the Strategy. If approved, the FY12 Budget Proposal authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to transfer one percent of the department’s domestic HIV/AIDS spending to promote new, collaborative efforts in support of the goals of the NHAS. If approved in the Congressional appropriations process, this would establish a fund of approximately $60 million dollars that would be administered by the Assistant Secretary for Health whose office would work closely with HHS operating divisions, staff offices, and community partners to determine the most strategic ways to use these resources to move us closer toward achieving the goals of the NHAS.
[...]
Consultation on Possible Uses of NHAS Implementation Fund
To begin the process of seeking input, on June 21, 2011, HHS convened some 40 stakeholders (PDF 64KB) from inside and outside of government to discuss principles and priorities that should be considered in the event that these resources become available in FY12. Mr. Jeffrey Crowley, Director of the White House’s Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), noted at the start of the meeting that the idea for an NHAS Implementation Fund grew out of requests from the community to ensure that resources are available to implement the Strategy.
Reflections on 2009 and Plans for 2010 for the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy
What a difference a year makes.
At the start of 2009, AIDS advocates prepared briefing materials for the Obama transition team. Having supported a comprehensive global and domestic AIDS platform on the campaign trail, President Barack Obama inspired renewed hope for aggressive action against the pandemic.
Since Inauguration Day, the White House website has highlighted Mr. Obama’s commitment to a National HIV/AIDS Strategy designed to improve AIDS-related outcomes by reducing new HIV infections, increasing access to care for those living with HIV/AIDS, and tackling HIV-related health disparities. Members of the Coalition for a National AIDS Strategy’s Coordinating Committee met in early 2009 with the newly appointed Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, Jeff Crowley, and other White House officials to provide input on this and other AIDS policy issues.