After Trump’s State of The Union commitment to ending new HIV infections in the United States by 2030, a press release from NASTAD emphasizes that “structural policies must align with our best science and the Administration must recognize the need to prioritize the health and safety of the communities that continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV.”
“Policies and positions that contribute to stigma and discrimination against LGBT people, immigrants and those seeking asylum, and populations with higher risk of acquiring HIV such as young gay men of color are counter to the goal of ending new HIV infections by 2030. Similarly, we will not end the epidemic without ensuring that people living with and at high risk for HIV have access to Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance.
We have the data to support our understanding of who we need to prioritize to end the HIV epidemic. Human rights policies must line up with our best science and the Administration must recognize the need to prioritize the health and safety of the communities that continue to be disproportionately impacted by HIV. In addition, the Administration will need to evaluate how policies it has pursued have contributed to the immense barriers to successful treatment and care that many communities face—barriers that include inadequate health systems, poverty, unstable housing, racism, gender inequality, denial, drug-use policies, stigma, discrimination, and HIV criminalization.”
— Read the full press release here on NASTAD.org
About NASTAD Founded in 1992, NASTAD is a leading non-partisan non-profit association that represents public health officials who administer HIV and hepatitis programs in the U.S. and around the world. Our singular mission is to end the intersecting epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis, and related conditions. We do this work by strengthening domestic and global governmental public health through advocacy, capacity building, and social justice.
