FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jesse Milan Jr., J.D., AIDS United’s president and CEO, appointed to Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
Contact: Warren Gill, wgill@aidsunited.org
(202) 599-8259
WASHINGTON — Jesse Milan Jr., AIDS United’s president and CEO, was sworn in Wednesday as a member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. The council, often abbreviated as PACHA, provides advice, information and recommendations to the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding the federal response to the HIV epidemic.
Milan, a gay man who has been living with HIV for more than 40 years, has spent decades working to end the HIV epidemic locally, nationally and internationally. He issued the following statement upon his swearing in.
“I am very excited about this opportunity. PACHA has been among the most influential forums for addressing the issues — both domestic and international — facing the HIV community. And PACHA has been instrumental in guiding our federal response.
“I am also pleased to bring another voice of someone not just living with HIV, but also a Black gay man aging with HIV. It is absolutely vital that those of us living with HIV are a part of any decisions impacting our lives. And as more and more of us grow older with HIV, we have to make certain public health systems are prepared to meet our unique needs.
“I am also very excited about advancing the agenda of AIDS United’s Public Policy Council by making sure that PACHA is aware of the critical issues that our Public Policy Council is strategizing on.”
More than 55 of the leading HIV service organizations are members of AIDS United’s Public Policy Council. The council brings issues from the grassroots to the national stage and sets the policy agenda for AIDS United.
“There are important areas I think PACHA can help advance. This includes addressing long-standing racial health disparities and supporting legislation like the Older Americans Act and the SAFE SEX Workers Study Act. These are legislative initiatives that need greater public support and would be very helpful for the broader HIV community. And I think we have an important role supporting the president’s agenda, such as President Biden’s proposed national PrEP program.”
PrEP, short for preexposure prophylaxis, is a medication that prevents HIV. Biden’s proposed 2024 budget included a national program that would cover the cost of PrEP for people who are underinsured and uninsured.
“I have always strived to honor the trust that has been placed in me as an advisor to the federal government, and I am deeply grateful for this opportunity.”
Milan is no stranger to public service, having served on numerous nonprofit boards and government agencies over the years. He served for five years as a co-chair of CHAC, which is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Advisory Committee on HIV, Viral Hepatitis and STD Prevention and Treatment. He currently serves on the PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board, which is part of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, and is the chair of the board of directors of Funders Concerned About AIDS.
AIDS United’s mission is to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. through strategic grant-making, capacity building and policy. AIDS United works to ensure access to life-saving HIV care and prevention services and to advance sound HIV-related policy for populations and communities most impacted by the U.S. epidemic As of January 2021, our strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $118 million to local communities, and we have leveraged more than $184 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to, syringe access, access to care, capacity-building, HIV prevention and advocacy.
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