Stakeholders are invited to share comments on the Draft HIV National Strategic Plan for 2021-2025. Read the Federal Register Notice detailing the comment process. Access the draft HIV Plan here. Comments are due by December 14. 2020.
What Happens When the National HIV/AIDS Strategy Expires in 2020?
The development of the next iteration of the United States’ National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) is underway. This means there will be a new, updated national plan, grounded in the latest science, to guide stakeholders from all sectors in collaborative efforts focused on key strategies to achieve our national HIV goals.
The first NHAS, released in 2010, served as the nation’s roadmap in the fight against HIV. It was later updated in 2015. The current NHAS expires in 2020.
Building on those two previous strategies, the next five-year national plan will be known asthe HIV National Strategic Plan (HIV Plan). The HIV Plan is designed to be accessible to and useful for a broad audience, including people working in public health, health care, government, community-based organizations, research, and academia. It serves as a roadmap for stakeholders from all sectors of society to guide development of policies, services, programs, initiatives, and other actions to achieve the nation’s vision of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030.
What Is the Process for Updating the Strategy?
Recognizing the importance of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, ADM Brett Giroir, MD, Assistant Secretary for Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced in 2018 the process to develop the next iteration of the Strategy in parallel with the National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan, which also expires in 2020.
The Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP), part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, is facilitating the processes for both plans. OIDP is collaborating with federal partners from across many departments and agencies to compile the best available evidence and recommendations for the HIV Plan to put us on the path to ending the HIV epidemic. Robust public comment was received, reviewed, analyzed, and considered by a federal steering committee that included representatives from six federal departments and 12 HHS agencies and offices. The federal steering committee guided development of the HIV Plan and approved its components. The HIV Plan is aligned with the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative and Healthy People 2030, and it was developed concurrently with and designed to complement the Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan, the STI National Strategic Plan, and the National Vaccine Plan.
The HIV Plan articulates goals, objectives, and strategies to prevent new infections, treat people with HIV to improve health outcomes, reduce HIV-related disparities, and better integrate and coordinate the efforts of all partners to achieve the bold targets for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States. It includes targets for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030, including a 75% reduction in new HIV infections by 2025 and a 90% reduction by 2030.
How Is Community Input Informing the Development of the HIV Plan?
Community input has been integral to the development of the HIV Plan, as it was in the development and implementation of the current and previous NHAS. Since the fall of 2018, OIDP has facilitated multiple opportunities for stakeholder input in the development of the HIV Plan, including 18 listening sessions which generated 312 comments about the HIV Plan and solicitation of public comments through a Request for Information that was published in the Federal Register in February 2019 and resulted in receipt of 49 written public comments on HIV. The draft HIV Plan was also posted for public comment in December 2020.
When Will the HIV Plan Be Released?
The goal is to release the HIV National Strategic Plan in early 2021.
What Has Happened Lately?
Read about some of the recent developments in this process in these blog posts: