Obama Announces $100M Initiative To Find HIV/AIDS Cure

Big news from the Obama administration following the celebration of World AIDS Day. President Obama announced a new $100 million initiative at the National Institutes of Health that will be focussed on finding a cure for AIDS/HIV in pursuit of Obama's goal of an "AIDS-free generation."

The Washington Blade reports:

The event was part of the rollout for a new White House report on confronting HIV/AIDS, titled “Improving Outcomes: Accelerating Progress Along the HIV Care Continuum.” The report describes the state of the epidemic, makes recommendations going forward and highlights local successes as well as public-private partnerships.

In his remarks, Obama said significant progress has made in confronting HIV/AIDS since Congress first allocated funds to fight the disease in 1983, but certain communities continue to be affected more than others, including LGBT people and the D.C. area.

“Here in the United States, we need to keep focusing on investments to communities that are still being hit hardest, including gay and bisexual men, African-Americans and Latinos,” Obama said. “We need to keep up the fight in our cities — including Washington, D.C., which in recent years has reduced diagnosed infections by nearly half.”

As Assistant to the President on Domestic Policy Cecilia Munoz pointed out at the start of the event, the Centers for Disease Control has reported gay and bisexual men account for two-thirds of all new HIV infections in the United States.

Despite the fact that this is not "new money" which is being added to the NIH budget, it is still very encouraging that the focus is shifting towards a cure, although there are concerns about whether this initiative will have a negative impact on HIV prevention efforts.

Hat/tip to Joe.My.God