White House to hold meeting on development of HIV/AIDS strategy in Ferndale

The White House Office of National AIDS Policy will hold a meeting at Affirmations Community Center in Ferndale on Nov. 18. The meeting is designed to seek and receive input from communities impacted by the HIV epidemic about the development and implementation of a national HIV/AIDS strategy.

The strategy is a goal President Barack Obama promised during his election campaign.

According to a Facebook event posting about the event, ONAP in developing the NHAS will have the following goals:

•Reducing HIV incidence
•Increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes
•Reducing HIV-related health disparities

Mark Peterson, a director for the HIV activist group Michigan Positive Action, says the meeting is important for HIV prevention and care efforts in the state:

Too often policies which impact people living with HIV are made without the direct input from those of us living with HIV. November 18th, those of us living with HIV can speak our truth directly to power. Whether it is for comprehensive HIV prevention programming that assures that HIV stops with us, or compassionate and accessible HIV care that allows no one in this country to go without medical treatment for HIV, our national policies need to be made from the sound and logical approaches that those of us on the front lines know well. This is our chance to make sure that our policies reflect our realities and aren’t shaped solely by the winds of political expediency and popularity.

The Ferndale stop is one of many ONAP officials are planning. Other meeting will occur or have occurred in places like Minneapolis, Miami and San Francisco. The Michigan meeting will run from 6 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.