Obama Announces New AIDS Initiatives

President Obama is stepping up in the fight against HIV and AIDS by planning to help more people across the globe get life-saving drugs, as well as increase spending on treatment in the U.S. by $50 million. According to The Advocate:

The president announced the initiatives Thursday at a high-level panel discussion on “the beginning of the end of AIDS” hosted by ONE and (RED) in Washington, D.C. to mark World AIDS Day. In remarks prior to the panel, Obama reviewed progress toward "the real possibility of an AIDS-free generation" while he noted obstacles that remain the United States and challenged major partners including China to increase their share of funding to the global effort.

"The rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere, but it’s not going down in America," said Obama. "The infection rate here has been holding steady for over a decade. There are communities in this country being devastated by this disease. When new infections among young, black, gay men increase by nearly fifty percent in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter. When Latinos are dying sooner than other groups; when black women feel forgotten even though they account for most of the new cases among women, we need to do more."

The president is also wants to put antiretroviral drugs in the hands of 2 million more people by the end of next year, as well as deliver drugs to 1.5 million HIV-positive pregnant women.  Read the whole article HERE.