A call to action for National HIV Prevention Day

As we mark National HIV Prevention Day, there is much to be hopeful about. Today, we have highly effective pre-exposure prophylaxis options — from a daily pill to a twice-yearly injection — that have the potential to dramatically alter the course of the HIV epidemic.

That hope is tempered by calls to eliminate federal funding for HIV prevention and by threats to the sustainability of the community-based programs that are essential to ensuring HIV prevention services reach the people who could benefit most. At a moment when we have the tools to prevent new HIV transmissions, we need to expand rather than erode the systems and programs that make those tools accessible.

HIVMA urges policymakers to fully fund HIV prevention programs and establish a National PrEP Program to ensure everyone who could benefit from PrEP can access it and to help realize the full promise of HIV prevention.

— Anna K. Person, MD, FIDSA — Chair, HIVMA 

About HIVMA
The HIV Medicine Association is a community of nearly 6,000 health care professionals who advance a comprehensive and humane response to the HIV pandemic, informed by science and social justice. HIVMA works to increase access to health care services and coverage for people with HIV and populations heavily impacted by HIV and to foster a robust, diverse and culturally competent HIV workforce. HIVMA is part of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. Visit hivma.org to learn more.