Finding our voice...

On Wednesday, March 11, 2009, I had the good fortune to meet with leaders of HIV and STD Programs from across the United States and the Territories. They represented a broad swathe of the country and a diversity of public health programs. We had a long agenda, but we still made time at the opening of the meeting to share briefly on our individual programs.

Through these briefs and conversations during the day, it became clear that the current economic downturn is having a real impact on HIV and STD prevention and other public health activities. Over the coming months, I will be using this blog as well as other media to talk with you about familiar and new challenges to our programs to help stimulate and encourage conversations on how we can respond together and as individuals; to discuss opportunities we both see and create; to showcase innovation in local and community responses; and to inspire our work to clearly see and pursue those prevention efforts that must be prioritized.

Tough times breed resilient and compassionate leaders, and I continue to be impressed by the passion and commitment of my colleagues working at the frontlines who are making difficult decisions to protect the health of individuals, families and communities every day. Now is the time to create novel and innovative approaches to our prevention programs. Now more than ever we need to critically compare the effectiveness of our programs and find out where and what we are doing that is making the greatest impact. Now is the time to renew our conversations on the importance of prevention, to find our collective voices. We have an important role to play in protecting the public's health. I know we are ready for that challenge.

 
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