Office of National AIDS Policy
The Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) is the White House Office tasked with coordinating the continuing efforts of the government to reduce the number of HIV infections across the United States. Although the office emphasizes prevention through wide-ranging education initiatives, ONAP also helps to coordinate the care and treatment of citizens with HIV/AIDS. In addition, ONAP coordinates with the National Security Council and works with other international bodies to ensure that America’s response to the global pandemic is fully integrated with other prevention, care, and treatment efforts around the world. For more information on HIV/AIDS, visit:
Through the PEPFAR initiative, America has made enormous progress in responding to the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. The U.S. has helped to expand access to treatment, care, and prevention for people infected with and affected by HIV/AIDS around the world.
Here at home, we also achieved successes in providing care and treatment services to people living with HIV/AIDS, preventing new infections through reductions in the transmission rate of HIV, providing housing and other essential supports, as well as operating a broad research agenda to find a cure, develop better treatments, and develop new interventions to prevent new infections.
As the HIV/AIDS pandemic approaches its thirtieth year, these successes give us much to celebrate, but much work remains to be done. President Obama is committed to re-focusing public attention on the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic. The President has appointed a health policy expert with strong ties to the HIV/AIDS community to serve as the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy. He has also worked with CDC to announce the launch of the first new HIV/AIDS education and risk reduction campaign in twenty years, called, Act Against AIDS.
National HIV/AIDS Strategy
- Reducing HIV incidence;
- Increasing access to care; and,
- Reducing HIV-related health disparities.
The Administration is committed to developing the NHAS through a process that is inclusive of a broad range of perspectives and stakeholders, and is conducted in a transparent manner. The NHAS will increase awareness and include measurable goals, timelines, and accountability mechanisms.
Health Reform
The President has placed health reform on top of his agenda. Successful reform has enormous potential to improve the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS. As part of reform, the Administration will work to strengthen Medicaid and Medicare, major sources of health coverage for people with HIV/AIDS; expand access to affordable and reliable private insurance coverage; and promote delivery system reforms to ensure that public and private insurance coverage delivers high quality care. The President is also committed to supporting programs that – like the Ryan White Act – bring marginalized and underserved populations into care.
HIV Prevention
With more than 56,000 new infections in the United States each year, we must do more as a nation to stop the spread of HIV infection. The President believes we must do more to address HIV-related stigma, promote HIV testing, and rely on sound science to focus our prevention efforts on the populations and communities at greatest risk for infection.
Global HIV/AIDS
Around the world, President Obama is determined to assist nations that are greatly burdened by HIV/AIDS. The Administration is committed to the PEPFAR initiative that provides funding and leadership to assist countries in preventing new infections, saving lives through health promotion and treatment, and building the capacity of health systems to respond to the needs of their citizens.
