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Thousands Gather At 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference To Confront The HIV Epidemic In The United States

August 03rd, 2010

More than 3,000 public health, medical, and AIDS community leaders will convene in Atlanta for the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference (August 23-26), the only major U.S. conference to focus exclusively on HIV prevention. The meeting is co-sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and more than 40 other public and private agencies dedicated to fighting HIV and AIDS in the United States. Conference participants will include U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, Jeffrey Crowley; CDC Director Thomas Frieden; and basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

“This conference is a reminder that HIV prevention can and does save lives,” said Kevin Fenton, M.D., conference co-chair and director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. “However, the HIV crisis in America is far from over. Too many people remain at risk, and too few people have access to proven HIV prevention programs.”

It is estimated that prevention efforts have averted more than 350,000 HIV infections in the United States to date, and saved more than $125 billion in medical costs alone. Still, more than one million people in the United States are now living with HIV, and CDC’s latest estimates indicate that more than 56,000 Americans-one person every 9 ½ minutes-become infected with HIV each year. Gay and bisexual men of all races, African Americans, and Latinos are most severely affected by HIV.

Conference Sessions to Address Most Pressing Prevention Issues in the United States

More than 700 scientific studies will be presented at the conference, and plenary and other special sessions will focus on the most urgent HIV prevention issues in this country today.

Featured sessions and speakers include:

- Opening address by Earvin “Magic” Johnson (Aug. 23), chairman of The Magic Johnson Foundation, who will address the challenges of living with HIV, as well as common myths about HIV in the black community

- Plenary session (Aug. 24) and HIV/AIDS Community Discussion (Aug. 25) with Jeffrey Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, who will discuss the Administration’s plans for developing a National HIV/AIDS Strategy

- Plenary session (Aug 24) with HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and CDC Director Thomas Frieden to discuss the current Administration’s commitment to HIV prevention

- Plenary session on promising advances in HIV prevention science (Aug. 25) such as new behavioral interventions and potential biomedical approaches, including those that utilize antiretroviral treatment - both before exposure to the virus and to reduce transmissibility among those already infected

- Plenary session with members of Congress (Aug. 26) to discuss their perspectives on key legislative and policy issues affecting the lives of individuals living with HIV and the communities that are most deeply affected by the epidemic

Conference sessions will also examine societal factors that contribute to HIV risk and disease progression, including stigma, racism, discrimination, homophobia, poverty, homelessness, and limited access to health care.

“To make a significant impact in driving down HIV infection rates in the United States, it is essential that we address the full range of factors that place individuals at risk,” said Beverly Watts Davis, conference co-chair and senior policy advisor on substance abuse policy of the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Societal factors such as substance abuse, mental health problems, and discrimination all contribute to the ongoing domestic HIV epidemic and must be incorporated into the nation’s HIV prevention response.”

In addition, since many populations with the highest rates of infection either do not recognize their risk or believe that HIV is no longer a serious health threat, conference sessions will address ways to combat HIV complacency, including efforts such as CDC’s recently-launched Act Against AIDS campaign - a five-year communication campaign to refocus national attention to the HIV epidemic in the United States.

Reaching the Populations at Greatest Risk

The conference will focus particular attention on the prevention needs of the hardest-hit populations - including gay and bisexual men of all races, African Americans, and Latinos. Men who have sex with men represent more than half of all new HIV infections estimated to occur in the United States each year, and are the only risk group in which new infections are increasing. There are continuing racial disparities in the U.S. HIV epidemic, with African Americans most severely and disproportionately affected, as well as ongoing disparities in infection rates among both blacks and Hispanics, compared to whites.

“As a nation, we’re at a critical crossroads in the fight against HIV,” said Richard Wolitski, Ph.D., conference co-chair and a deputy director of CDC’s Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. “While existing prevention tools have had a significant impact on the epidemic, there remains an urgent need to expand the reach of proven prevention programs and to develop new prevention options. The future course of the U.S. HIV epidemic will depend on how effectively we address this challenge now.”

Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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