NBJC 'Pleased With' Obama Administration's National Strategy on HIV and AIDS

NBJC 'Pleased With' Obama Administration's
National Strategy on HIV and AIDS

For Immediate Release
Contact: Stacey Gates, sgates@nbjc.org
Office: 202-319-1552, ext. 25

Yesterday, the Obama Administration unveiled a national strategy to reduce the annual number of HIV infections by 25 percent in five years and increase the percentage of newly-diagnosed patients receiving treatment within three months of their diagnosis from 65 percent to 85 percent.  Additionally, the Obama Administration’s plan, which directs more resources to high-risk groups including African Americans and gay and bisexual men, seeks to:

• Reduce HIV-related health disparities;
• Increase HIV testing;
• Cut the rate of the virus' spread by 30 percent, from five people a year infected by every 100 living with HIV to 3.5 per 100;
• Increase from 79 percent to 90 percent the percentage of HIV-positive people who know they're infected with the virus so they can get treatment.

In response to the Obama Administration’s plan, Sharon J. Lettman, Executive Director of the National Black Justice Coalition, released the following statement:

“We are pleased with the direction the Obama Administration is pursuing in its national strategy on fighting HIV and AIDS.  We have called for an informed and robust dialogue around the truths about HIV and AIDS, including discussions about safe sex, prevention, public education, and living with HIV/AIDS, among other things. That this is happening at the highest level of government sets the tone for significantly reducing the impact of HIV and AIDS in the Black community and beyond.

“This is monumental for advocates like Phill Wilson who have been in the trenches fighting for a coordinated domestic strategy to address this epidemic, particularly in the Black community, which has been devastated by HIV/AIDS.  African Americans represent approximately 12 percent of the population in the United States, and according to the CDC, account for nearly half (46 percent) of people living with HIV in the United States, as well as nearly half (45 percent) of new infections each year.

“Today, we join Phill and the Black AIDS Institute, along with advocates throughout the community celebrating this landmark announcement from the Obama Administration, and look forward to being a resource to the administration as they work toward public education and prevention.”

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a civil rights organization dedicated to empowering Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. NBJC's mission is to eradicate racism and homophobia. 

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