New York, NY - The Ad Hoc National Coalition to End the AIDS Epidemic made up of over 70 AIDS advocates and service providers from around the country praise Secretary Hillary Clinton for honoring her commitment in the fight against AIDS.

Just last week, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) made history by featuring Atlanta-based activist Daniel Driffin, the first HIV-positive speaker to address the convention in over a decade. And on August 2, the Clinton Campaign announced Secretary Clinton would build upon her HIV/AIDS agenda by convening an "End the Epidemic" working group to adopt aggressive and attainable timelines for ending AIDS as an epidemic in the United States and globally, working to fully implement and strengthen the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to meet these timelines, and by launching a campaign to end the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS. These commitments, as well as that of having an HIV positive speaker at the DNC, are the outcome of policy recommendations made by this coalition during meetings with the Clinton campaign over the past two months-a preliminary May meeting with Secretary Clinton and a June follow-up meeting with key Clinton policy staff.

These additions are critical steps toward ending the domestic AIDS epidemic and build on Secretary Clinton's existing HIV/AIDS platform, which includes expanding affordable care, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and removing disparities and barriers to accessing care. The coalition expresses deep gratitude for these significant steps that represent real progress and looks forward to continuing to build on this momentum with Secretary Clinton and her campaign in the months to come. 

 

Secretary Clinton also has long been dedicated to and involved in the global effort to fight HIV/AIDS. At the International AIDS Conference in South Africa last week, however, we heard that global funding of HIV/AIDS has dropped by over $1 billion, thus seriously threatening the possibility of ending AIDS globally by the year 2030. The United States has always been a leader and a model for other nations when it comes to milestones and progress on HIV/AIDS during the four decades this epidemic has plagued the globe. Clearly, an increase in the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is needed now more than ever to reverse this trend and fulfill our commitment to universal access to HIV treatment and care.

 

While Secretary Clinton has voiced a commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, it is also crucial for her to model that leadership for other nations by committing a specific dollar amount to PEPFAR. This coalition continues to urge Secretary Clinton to support the same funding proposal presented to her by the group in May, by increasing funding to the global PEPFAR program by at least $2 billion per year by 2020. That level of commitment would double the number of people on treatment as part of leading a global plan to treat over 30 million people by 2020 and would provide additional funding for an initiative to address poverty and inequality, the social and economic drivers of HIV. 

 

By committing to using U.S. power, visibility, and political will to leverage more donor funds, Secretary Clinton will be underscoring the United States' position as an international leader and a model for other nations to follow. We encourage her to demonstrate leadership on this global issue now, as a clear statement that under her command the U.S. will not back away from its commitments and that we will lead the world toward ensuring the end of AIDS by 2030. Should she be elected, we look forward to working with Secretary Clinton and her administration to implement and expand to secure necessary funding, and to set a timeline and targets to achieve an AIDS-free generation. 
 

The Ad Hoc National Coalition to End the AIDS Epidemic:

• Jose Abrigo, Staff Attorney, LGBTQ/HIV Advocacy Project, Queens Legal Services
• ACRIA
• ACT UP New York
• African Services Committee
• AIDS Action Baltimore
• AIDS Alabama
• AIDS Foundation of Chicago
• AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
• Albany Damien Center
• Amida Care
• AVAC
• Bailey House
• John Barry, LMSW, Executive Director, Southern Tier AIDS Program
• BOOM! Health
• Rebecca Botting
• Bronx Parent Housing Network
• Reginald T. Brown, M. Ed., Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, VOCAL-NY Community Leader
• Central New York HIV Care Network
• Coalition for Homeless Youth
• JD Davids, TheBody.com
• Sharen I. Duke, Executive Director and CEO, AIDS Service Center NYC (ASCNYC)
• Sergio Farfan, Louisiana Latino Health Coalition for HIV/AIDS
• Ingrid Floyd, Executive Director, Iris House
• Miasha Forbes, Human Rights Activist and Founder, Just for Us: Gender Diversity Project
• GMHC
• Health GAP
• Health People
• Hispanic Health Network
• HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
• Housing Works
• Brian Hujdich, Pozitively Health Coalition
• Human Rights Campaign
• Hyacinth AIDS Foundation
• Carine Jocelyn, CEO, Diaspora Community Services, Brooklyn, NY
• Marsha Jones, the Afiya Center
• Howard Josepher, LCSW, President & CEO, Exponents
• Jacquelyn Kilmer, CEO, Harlem United
• Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
• Latino Commission on AIDS
• Latinos in the Deep South
• LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York
• Matthew McMorrow, former Director of Government Affairs, Empire State Pride Agenda
• David Ernesto Munar, CEO, Howard Brown Health
• National Black Justice Coalition
• National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
• NMAC (formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council)
• OASIS-Latino LGBTS Wellness Center
• Chuck Peterson, Executive Director, Clare Housing, Minneapolis, MN
• Michael Emanuel Rajner, Wilton Manors, FL
• Kyle Rapinon, Esq., Director of Survival and Self-Determination, Sylvia Rivera Law Project
• Elana Redfield, Attorney and LGBTQI Activist
• Dr. Margaret S. Reneau, Director of Programs, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
• Bamby Salcedo, TransLatin@ Coalition
• Eric Sawyer, Founding Member-ACT UP, Co-Founder Housing Works, Inc. & Health GAP, Inc.
• Virginia Shubert, Shubert Botein Policy Associates
• SisterLove Inc.
• Southern Tier AIDS Program
• Peter Staley
• Rev. Moonhawk River Stone, M.S., LMHC, RiverStone Consulting, Schenectady, NY
• Daniel W. Tietz, Chief Special Services Officer, NYC Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services
• Treatment Action Group
• Trillium Health/Rochester
• Peter Twyman, CEO, Keep a Child Alive
• U.S. PLHIV Caucus
• Andrew Velez, ACT UP New York
• VillageCare
• Tom Viola, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
• VOCAL New York
• Washington Heights CORNER Project
• David W. Webber, Attorney
• John Wikiera, Central NY HIV Care Network
• Terri L. Wilder, MSW
• Doug Wirth, President/CEO, Amida Care
• Young Black Gay Leadership Initiative (YBGLI)