National HIV/AIDS Strategy: Community Reaction

by Lance Toma, Executive Director

In the 3^rd decade of the HIV epidemic, President Obama’s Administration released the long-awaited National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the first time ever that the US has had an overarching, comprehensive plan for addressing HIV/AIDS. This is a sobering reminder that change takes time. Members of our community are becoming infected with HIV—every 9.5 minutes to be exact. We know this even without a comprehensive plan.

And yet, this Strategy is more than necessary to focus our collective efforts, so that every corner of our country is supported, activated and resourced to stem this epidemic.

Lance with Jeff Crowley, Director of the White House Office of National AIDS

A&PI Wellness Center was an active participant in providing input into the creation of the Strategy. We helped the White House Office of National AIDS Policy to convene the San Francisco Community Discussion and a specific national meeting with Asian & Pacific Islander community leaders. Our staff, our clients and our community members were present at the 14 community discussions across the country.

I have read through the Strategy and I am hopeful. The 45-page Strategy references A&PIs five times. These references are critical, as they provide some context about the diaspora of our community throughout the country, about how gay A&PI men are disproportionately impacted, and about the systemic issues that contribute to undercounting of the epidemic in our communities. This is good start.

There is also one recommended action specific to our communities: to address our HIV prevention needs by strengthening surveillance activities at the federal and state levels. Again, this is a good start but stops short on any concrete action to make the impact that is so necessary for our communities’ needs. For us and for other emerging communities, our smaller numbers coupled with high and increasing rates are a clarion call to prevention but often do not create enough of a concern for resourced action and direct effort.

Lance with Greg Millett, Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of National AIDS Policy, June 22, 2010.

As with any plan, the ultimate hope is in the actions that follow. My team members and I will be doing a more thorough analysis of the Strategy in the days to come and we will be sharing our analysis with you soon. We will also make sure that we continue to engage our communities across the country.

This Strategy—while a good start—calls us to continued action. At A&PI Wellness Center, we know full well the hard and important work to take care of those at-risk and living with HIV/AIDS. This work does not ever stop or get any easier. In this way, the Strategy is also a painful reminder that we must continue to make the argument for our lives, that HIV/AIDS is affecting all of us.

Peace and Joy,

Lance Toma, LCSW
Executive Director