FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 2, 2019
CONTACT: Cory Combs | combs@sunshinesachs.com | 202-280-2398
Nation’s Longest-Running HIV Policy Coalition Celebrates 35 Years and Honors Dr. Anthony S. Fauci for 35 Years of Leadership in HIV Policy and Research
Washington, D.C. – Today, AIDS United’s Public Policy Council (PPC), the nation’s largest and longest-running policy coalition of community-based HIV organizations is celebrating 35 years of policy and advocacy to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. The PPC brings together organizations from across the United States to advocate for people living with or affected by HIV and the organizations that serve them.
Formed at the height of the epidemic, the PPC has led initiatives to shape and inform federal policies that impact people living with and affected by HIV. PPC leadership contributions include:
- Passage of the Ryan White Program
- Establishing the first National HIV/AIDS Strategy
- Protecting people living with HIV in the Affordable Care Act
- Creating the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States: A Roadmap for Federal Action
“We rely heavily on our national partners – the PPC among them – to advance our organizational goals by helping us stay on top of, and interpret, what’s happening in DC as well as how it will impact our clinic, our patients and communities,” commented Kimberleigh Joy Smith, Senior Director for Community Health Planning and Policy at Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City.
“The PPC has been critical to our efforts to make change at the federal level. We strive to be a bold voice for change. Since we don’t have a regular physical presence in Washington, D.C., the PPC helps us keep up with — and contribute to — what’s going on at the federal level in terms of HIV/AIDS policy,” remarked Nadeen Israel, VP of Policy and Advocacy at AIDS Foundation of Chicago.
To mark this occasion, the PPC is hosting a reception to celebrate PPC members and also honor Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Fauci is being recognized for his 35 years of leadership at NIAID and heroic advocacy, research, and care on behalf of the U.S. HIV community.
“Dr. Fauci is a central force behind the new Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan. More importantly, he has been an advocate for the community inside six administrations, leading always with science and human rights approaches to the HIV epidemic. When I discovered that he, too, was celebrating a 35th anniversary at NIAID, I thought what better way to recognize the roles of science and human rights advocacy than celebrating both the PPC and Dr. Fauci together,” said Jesse Milan, President and CEO of AIDS United. “The PPC has defined the issues and helped create and advocate for legislative and policy solutions for addressing HIV in the U.S. It’s expanded over the years in size and influence, and in every year has made a difference for those dying from, living with, and vulnerable to HIV.”
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 U.S. populations and communities most impacted by the epidemic. To date, our strategic grant-making initiatives have directly funded more than $104 million to local communities and have leveraged more than $117 million in additional investments for programs that include, but are not limited to HIV prevention, access to care, capacity building, harm reduction and advocacy. Learn more at aidsunited.org.
