Preexposure prophylaxis and emphasizing the U=U (undetectable = untransmittable) message are central to the efforts to end the HIV epidemic, a goal that the Biden administration picked up from the Trump administration.

Late last year, President Joe Biden released a new National HIV/AIDS strategy to provide the framework and direction for the administration’s policies, research, programs and planning through 2025. The plans have the lofty goal of ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030.

New HIV infections have declined from their peak in the mid-1980s. People with HIV who receive care and treatment are living longer, healthier lives. But there were still 18,489 deaths among people diagnosed with HIV in 2020 in the U.S., and 650 000 AIDS-related deaths globally.

Biden administration’s strategy has the milestones of reducing new HIV infections in the U.S. by 75%by 2025 and by 90% by 2030.

William Haseltine, Ph.D., president of ACCESS Health International and a former Harvard Medical School professor, noted the aim of helping communities take advantage of HIV services outside traditional healthcare settings through self-testing and mobile services is an important update to the government’s HIV/AIDS plans and something he has long advocated for.

“The strategy also addresses hepatitis, substance abuse, mental health, and other STI syndemics often connected with HIV, taking a whole person approach to HIV care,” he said. “This pledge demonstrates a continued commitment to combating HIV both nationally and internationally and ending HIV transmission in the US even amongst other competing health crises such as Covid-19.”

Read the full article at Managed Healthcare Executive