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State of the Union 2019
As part of the president's 10-year strategy, health officials would target communities in the United States with the highest number of HIV infections
President Donald Trump is planning to use Tuesday night's speech on the state of the Union to promise to end the HIV epidemic in America, told POLITICO four people aware of the planned remarks.
As part of Trump's 10-year strategy, health officials would target most HIV infections and efforts to reduce HIV transmission by 2030. This strategy has been championed by senior health officials, including HHS Secretary Alex Azar and CDC Director Robert Redfield.
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While Trump's Plans Discussions Remain Fluid – And One Official Warned That The Speech Was Not Finalized – HHS Asked The White House To Ensure That The Strategy the fight against HIV is put forward Tuesday night, said two people. The agency is also planning a wider rollout this week.
An HHS spokesman referred questions to the White House. A spokesman for the White House declined to comment.
According to the CDC, more than one million Americans have infected with HIV and about 40,000 are infected each year.
Historically, the state of the Union has been a platform for presidents. make bold public health declarations – many of them unsuccessful. Former President Barack Obama used his last speech in January 2016 to call for the end of cancer. While the cancer rate has continued to decline, it is estimated that more than 600,000 US residents died of cancer last year.
As part of Trump's HIV strategy, health officials would spend the first five years focusing on communities in about 20 states with the highest concentration of HIV infections. The ultimate goal is to stop new infections over a 10-year period, said two officials, along with how the Trump administration is targeting the opioid epidemic.
The strategy was strongly shaped by Redfield, a prominent AIDS researcher. hired to lead the CDC last year. Last year, Redfield said at a plenary meeting at the CDC that it was possible to end AIDS by 2025 with existing public health tools, such as the ## 147 ## # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # 39, more widespread use of condoms.
Brett Giroir, HHS Deputy Secretary for Health, who oversaw much of the opioid work of the Trump administration, was also instrumental in leading the roll-out of the HIV strategy.
The Trump administration has had sometimes difficult relations with the HIV / AIDS community. In January 2018, the President laid off his Advisory Committee on HIV / AIDS without any explanation and the new members of the committee were sworn in only on last week.
Trump also repeatedly tried to suppress the President's emergency plan for AIDS Relief, better known as PEPFAR, is a multi-billion dollar initiative launched by former President George W. Bush, which has saved more than 17 million lives worldwide. However, in December 2018, Trump signed an extension of the program that had received bipartite support.
At the same time, advocates voiced concerns that the Trump administration was canceling critical protections for LGBTQ patients, who are disproportionately exposed to HIV infections. About two-thirds of new HIV infections are among homosexual or bisexual men.
HIV / AIDS researchers have criticized Trump's health department for attempting – under the leadership of Giroir and with the support of abortion advocates – to look for alternatives research on fetal tissue. Researchers on HIV / AIDS say that fetal tissue is necessary for the development of a potential vaccine against the disease.
Brianna Ehley contributed to this report.
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