US To Host Global AIDS Conference In 2012

Travis Martinez – University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News

As the Obama administration prepares to repeal the HIV ban on infected foreigners, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced today that the U.S. will host the biannual global AIDS conference in 2012.

The U.S. last hosted the conference in 1990.

“We have to continue to see a global solution to this global problem,” she said. “It is clear that our nation’s investments in HIV/AIDS are having an impact. President Obama and I are dedicated to enhancing America’s leadership in the fight against global AIDS,” said Clinton.

“The American people can be proud of the work that is taking place, and of the dedicated people who are doing it. Yet it is equally true that the global AIDS emergency is not over,” added the Secretary of State.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called the lifting of the HIV ban a consequential shift in U.S. policy.

“It was a policy that tore families apart, kept people from getting tested, forced others to hide their HIV status and forgo live saving medication,” she said.

According to a press release, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), is working to develop and implement a National HIV/AIDS strategy which would involve goals to reduce HIV incidence, increase access to care and optimize health care outcomes.