HIV Prevention Saves Lives

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (U.S.) ; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (U.S)
• Description:
  Overwhelming evidence — including extensive historical experience and scores of careful scientific studies—demonstrates that well designed and delivered mv prevention programs contribute to healthier behaviors and substantially reduce the number of new HIV infections. Numerous opinion surveys reveal broad— and continuing— public support for a broad range of prevention programs— from federal funding for community-based programs, to aids education in our schools, to condom promotion messages on the airwaves. In a 1999 Harris poll, more than 90% of Americans surveyed said fighting aids was "very important." A national poll by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in 1997 found strong public support for HIV prevention programs. Additionally, separate Kaiser surveys found especially strong support among African Americans and Hispanics, who have been disproportionately affected by HIV. If anything, preventing HIV has become more difficult in recent years— but remains critical. Medical advances in the treatment of HIV have, thankfully, added years to the lives of individuals being treated for HIV infection. Unfortunately, though, this progress has led to a dangerous climate of complacency. Although HIV remains a serious and lifelong infection, and aids is still very much a life-threatening disease, a growing number of people appear to be relying too much on treatment advances, ignoring prevention messages, and returning to high-risk behavior. Each new generation needs to be reminded of the still-serious nature of HIV and the importance of prevention. Following the HIV prevention successes in the white gay community}' in the 1980s, new populations experienced dramatic increases in infections. The epidemic has expanded from one primarily affecting whites to one in which a majority of those affected are in communities of color. An epidemic originally affecting two principal populations—gay men and injection drug users— has diversified into one in which heterosexual acquisition of the virus, especially for women, is occurring more frequently. A new generation of gay men has replaced the men who benefited from early prevention strategies, and gay men of color with AIDS have surpassed the number of white gay men with the disease. Finally, the epidemic is becoming decidedly younger. There are more people living with HIV and AIDS today than at any point in the epidemic's history. While the national bill for treatment and lost productivity associated with HIV/ADIS continues to escalate, funding for HIV prevention services has remained relatively flat since 1991, barely keeping pace with the rate of inflation. As a result, prevention programs have fewer and fewer resources with which to confront an increasingly diverse and complex epidemic. This report aims to refocus public attention on what remains a critical public health imperative — the ongoing need to prevent the spread of HIV. As the federal agency leading HIV prevention efforts, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has summarized its approach to HIV prevention, outlined the most pressing challenges, and described the historical and scientific evidence of the effectiveness of HIV prevention. Finally, in this report, CDC highlights goals for the future of HIV prevention in the United States. As the information in this report demonstrates, we need HIV prevention now more than ever.
  
  Topics Covered: Does HIV prevention work?; CDC's Approach to HIV; Prevention; Programs for those who are HIV Positive and HIV Negative; Countless HIV Infections Prevented; Proven HIV Prevention Strategies; Prevention Strategies for All Populations; Identifying and Expanding New HIV Prevention Strategies; How do we Further Reduce the number of New infections?; A United States HIV Prevention Agenda; Meeting the Challenge; and References.
  
  Quote from Rev. Jesse Jackson: "We cannot put out this raging fire with a teaspoon of water."
  
  Quote from Magic Johnson: We need to increase prevention programs to groups that are at high risk ... We won't become complacent. We'll fight fearlessly to do better."
  
  
• Subjects:
  Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome Condoms Epidemiology Health Communication Health Surveys HIV HIV Infections / Prevention & Control Needs Assessment Public Health Safe Sex
• Keywords:
  AIDS Community Coalitions Community Programs Human Immunodeficiency Virus Prevention
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Pamphlet (or booklet)
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Rights:
  Public Domain
• CIO:
  National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention (U.S.)
• Topic:
  Diseases & Conditions
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  28 pdf
• Collection(s):
  Stephen B. Thacker CDC Library
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:e800e3e760423a067a20099f33083ee373c6cf42d4b18e3b5b6e0d5838a4a9fea8c352812d2a6348f08fbfc7526df47aef463f838bc76997950e9d88ebbfb186
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/47753/cdc_47753_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.90 MB ]