Biden targets inequity in new HIV/AIDS strategy

President Biden on Wednesday unveiled a new HIV/AIDS strategy, calling for a renewed focus on vulnerable Americans — including gay and bisexual Black and Latino men, who his administration says are too often stigmatized even as they are disproportionately affected (Source: “Biden says HIV/AIDS strategy needs to confront inequity,” Associated Press, Dec. 2).

The new strategy, which declares racism a “public health threat,” was released on the annual commemoration of (no link) World AIDS Day. It is meant to serve as a framework for how the administration shapes its policies, research, programs and planning over the next three years.

The new strategy asserts that, over generations, “structural inequities have resulted in racial and ethnic health disparities that are severe, far-reaching, and unacceptable.”

To reduce disparities, the strategy includes calls for focusing on the needs of disproportionately affected populations, supporting (no link) racial justice, combating HIV-related stigma and discrimination and providing leadership and employment opportunities for people with or at risk for HIV.