News Release

STATEMENT BY MIKE LEAVITT
Secretary of Health and Human Services
On World AIDS Day 2006

On the 19th annual World AIDS Day, as we pause to reflect on the important progress made, we must also reflect on the significant challenges in stopping HIV/AIDS' assault in the United States and elsewhere in the world. Since 1981, over 20 million people worldwide have died of AIDS, and an estimated 40 million people are living with HIV. We in HHS have adopted as our theme "Promise of Partnerships," which calls each of us to consider what steps we can take in the battle against this epidemic.

In the United States, more than one million Americans are living with HIV, and approximately 25 percent of them do not know they have the virus. About 40,000 Americans are newly infected with HIV each year. Some groups are disproportionately affected. African Americans, and men of all races who have sex with men, remain the most severely affected.

Thanks to advances in treatment and care, people are now living with HIV/AIDS longer than ever. But this life-extending treatment can only reach those who know they are infected. To reduce the number of new infections and bring people into care, HHS' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidelines for HIV testing.

Testing is one of the most important weapons we have in the war against HIV/AIDS. CDC has issued new recommendations for HIV testing in health care settings. These recommendations call for voluntary HIV testing as a standard part of regular medical care for all people between the ages of 13-64, regardless of risk. Widespread testing will help reach many people who are unaware of their infection. The Administration has made access to HIV testing a priority by proposing a CDC program to make resources available in 2007 for testing in cities with high HIV prevalence.

We have also made reauthorization of the Ryan White CARE program a priority. The Ryan White CARE Act, administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration, provides over $2 billion a year for primary health care, support services and medications for more than 530,000 low-income, uninsured and underinsured people living with HIV/AIDS. For the past two years, the Administration has worked on a bipartisan basis with Congress as well as states and advocacy groups on a reauthorization bill that will improve the program, to ensure that it gives local providers the flexibility they need to achieve meaningful results and direct federal resources to areas of greatest need. The bill expands the resources available for life-saving care and provides geographical fairness by ensuring access to services no matter where a patient lives. The House passed the bill earlier this year and the Senate should act immediately so states will not lose access to these important funds.

On World AIDS Day, HHS is launching www.AIDS.gov, the new Internet gateway to federal HIV/AIDS information. We at HHS encourage users to learn about prevention, testing, treatment, and research programs, and to find federal HIV/AIDS policies and resources.

World AIDS Day is a time for reflection and renewal. Let us mark it by acknowledging the work of all the worldwide partners in this battle and how, combined, we can strive to defeat HIV/AIDS.

To locate a testing site near you please visit www.hivtest.org. For more information on World AIDS Day please visit www.worldaidsday2006.org and www.aids.gov.

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.

Last revised: November 30, 2006