President Obama held a World AIDS Day event at the White House yesterday
at which he announced a $100 million initiative to develop a cure for
HIV, the Washington Blade reports:
“The United States should be at the
forefront of new discoveries in how to put HIV into long-term remission
without requiting live-long therapies, or better yet, eliminate it
completely,” Obama said.
In a fact sheet published after the
event, the White House clarified the $100 million would be distributed
over the course of three years and would catalyze further research for
new therapies to improve outcomes for people with HIV.
Rowena Johnston, amfAR’s vice president
and director of research, said in a statement after the event the
administration’s efforts to find a cure for HIV would build off previous
successes in the past year.
“This year, we saw a series of
breakthroughs in HIV cure research that have brought us more clarity
than we’ve ever had on the precise steps and tools needed to finally end
AIDS,” Johnston said. “We cannot achieve the President’s goal of an
AIDS-free generation without continued investment in the research
necessary to ultimately help us find a cure for this disease.”
More at The Blade...
Obama also said he plans to sign into law the PEPFAR Stewardship and
Oversight Act of 2013, which extends the Bush-era President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief to confront HIV/AIDS overseas. And added that wait
lists for federal drugs for HIV/AIDS had been eliminated as part of a
$35 million initiative implemented two years ago.
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