Title: 2003 Policies

Author:

Section/SPIG: HIV/AIDS

Issue Date:

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Greetings from the Policy and Resolution Committee. This was an exciting year! With a great deal of assistance and cooperation from the International Health Section, we submitted two resolutions for consideration by APHA’s Joint Policy Committee (JPC): The Importance of Prevention with HIV-Positive Individuals Receiving Clinical Care and Supporting Increased Investments in Bilateral and Multilateral Programs to Address the Epidemics of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria. A reference committee, outside reviewers, and the full JPC reviewed the proposed policy statements at its April 29-30, 2003 meeting. Review comments and suggestions were incorporated, and the two policy statements were resubmitted in June. The JPC met in early July to consider the revised proposals and make final decisions.

The following recommendations were proposed in the policy statements.

The Importance of Prevention with HIV-Positive Individuals Receiving Clinical Care.
As part of a comprehensive approach to HIV prevention, APHA:

1. Encourages the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Health Resources
and Services Administration, and the Infectious Disease Society of America to broadly disseminate their prevention guidelines for clinicians with HIV-infected patients;

2. Urges the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration to collaborate on HIV/AIDS prevention strategies and the integration of prevention and care funding and policies;

3. Urges increased funding for the development of HIV prevention demonstration
projects as a component of Sexually Transmitted Diseases/Infections programs to
provide onsite screening, treatment and related services in settings serving HIV-
infected and at risk individuals; and

4. Calls for an increase in funding for and the development of comprehensive approaches to prevention efforts targeting HIV infected persons including strategies to teach new, safer behaviors.

Supporting Increased Investments in Bilateral and Multilateral Programs to Address the Epidemics of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

The American Public Health Association:

1. Urges the President and Congress to increase U.S. contributions to the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria;

2. Urges the President and Congress to increase its investment in USAID and CDC bilateral assistance programs for HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria. At a minimum, the full level of funding authorized by the U.S. Leadership against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003 should be appropriated;

3. Urges increased U.S. investment in services and programs for children orphaned by AIDS;

4. Urges the United States to support allowing countries to purchase medications at the best available world prices;

5. Urges the United States to support additional debt cancellation to impoverished countries to combat AIDS, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa;

6. Encourages the Department of Health and Human Services to increase strategies for training, technical assistance, and knowledge transfer to complement financial contributions;

7. Encourages the president to develop a strategy to increase private sector involvement in and contributions to the Global Fund; and

8. Urges support for full funding for programs to address the serious HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States, including programs that ensure access to HIV/AIDS medications.

Global Efforts to address these epidemics should not be done at the expense of United States domestic programs.

After the JPC review, policies may be recommended for review by APHA’s Governing Council.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2003 APHA Annual Meeting and hope you will join us for the Policy/Resolution Committee meeting on Sunday, November 16 at 4 p.m. with new policy ideas and energy to build on the work of this past year.