Barack Obama

I had the opportunity to attend a press conference hosted by the Black AIDS Institute, which presented a new report entitled "Left Behind - Black America: A Neglected Priority in the Global AIDS Epidemic." This report highlighted the crucial urgency of the AIDS epidemic within the United States among the African American population. In a study recently released earlier this month by the CDC, it was revealed that new HIV cases in the US was under-reported by 40%, further underscoring the need for immediate action to address this crisis domestically, despite substantial progress globally.

One of the key message from the press conference, which included Phill Wilson, Dr. Helen Gayle, Pernessa Seele, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Jacob Gayle, and US Congresswoman Barbara Lee, was that while PEPFAR has been successful internationally, there is a critical need to create a National Strategy for AIDS in America - a sort of "Domestic PEPFAR". In addition, the panelists and experts called for a domestic prevention commitment of $1.3 billion US per year.  read more »