After 30 years of the HIV/AIDS pandemic sweeping across the country, the White House held a conference call June 6 to discuss how they plan to move forward.
"The story of HIV is one of countless human lives," said Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of health and human services.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 1 million people are currently living with HIV in the United States with an estimated 56,300 new infections each year. AIDS has killed almost 600,000 people since its first appearance.
Last summer the Obama administration put together a comprehensive plan to combat the disease (the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, or NHAS), a first for the United States. Various goals have been set, all with the purpose of making new HIV infections a rarity and to ensure all infected people receive the proper care.
Jeffrey Crowley, director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, said President Obama is "deeply committed to ending the pandemic."
Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC, reflected on the early days of the disease, when he "watched hundreds of people die with very little [he] could do for them."
Frieden said that the CDC will be working to expand testing and links to patient care. The focus will be on population groups that are affected the most by HIV/AIDS.
Gay and bisexual men account for about half of all infections in the U.S. and about half of all new infections. They are also the only group that has shown a steady increase in infections since the 1990s.
Frieden said that once people know they are infected, the chance of them spreading the disease decreases sharply. He also said that proper treatment decreases the risk of spread by 95 percent.
Mary Wakefield of the Health Resources and Services Administration spoke about the group's Ryan White Program, which helps to get treatment and care for low-income people living with AIDS. $50 million in funding has been added to the program in 2011 to provide additional services like medication and mental health counseling at almost 1300 sites across the country.
Wakefield said this program "plays a crucial role in the president's HIV/AIDS strategy."
Medicaid Director Cindy Mann said that they just issued state guidelines for two new Medicaid programs that will also give HIV/AIDS patients more access to care, along with extra funding for the programs.
Sebelius added that the administration hopes the new healthcare bill can be implemented quickly to get proper care to those living with HIV/AIDS.
Frieden said condoms and annual testing offer the best protection, but "if you're positive you can protect yourself and your community by getting treatment. We want everyone who's HIV positive to have access."