2012-07-22 HHS Speeches - AIDS 2012 Opening Session

[Minuteman]

http://www.hhs.gov/secretary/about/s.../20120722.html

Excerpt:

Perhaps the most important principle in our national strategy is one we’ve been reminded of over and over again in our response to HIV/AIDS: none of us can do this alone. That’s why we’re making a new effort to reach out to community-based organizations, businesses, foundations, NGOs, faith organizations and more. And this evening, I’m proud to announce four new public-private collaborations that will make it easier for Americans to get HIV care.

First, we’re launching a partnership with Walgreens to begin a three-year trial exploring how pharmacies can help patients stay on their medications. Second, we’re working with Medscape, the leading provider of online continuing education for US clinicians, to create new training programs to help them better understand and address the needs of patients with HIV. Third, we’re launching two partnerships with the MAC AIDS Fund: a mobile texting pilot program called UCARE4LIFE to help patients get important reminders and tips for managing their disease, and a joint project with PEPFAR that will bring together international leaders to explore how lessons learned through PEPFAR could be applied to the US.
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The unifying principle behind all these efforts, at home and abroad, is that they are guided by science and evidence. I’m proud of the leading role that America’s National Institutes of Health have played in the research breakthroughs that have brought us within sight of an AIDS-free generation. Earlier this week, we took another step forward with the approval of Truvada, the first drug shown to reduce the risk of HIV infection in uninfected individuals at high risk.

And in the days ahead, you’ll hear about promising next steps in other areas from basic science, to microbicides for women, to voluntary medical male circumcision, to improved therapies, to potential vaccines for HIV and TB, to our ultimate goal of a cure. Science is the reason this conference got started. And it remains the driving force behind our efforts to combat this disease.