The 2022-2025 National HIV/AIDS Strategy and DC CFAR

On Wednesday, December 1st, the White House released the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for 2022-2025. The Strategy establishes four goals, with objectives and strategies, aimed to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 and reduce HIV-associated morbidity and mortality in people living with HIV (pg.1). Designed to establish a "whole-of-society national response", the National Strategy demonstrates how our CFAR, specifically our new and established Scientific Interest Groups (SIGs) and Scientific Working Groups (SWGs), can support the efforts of the National Strategy.

• The Strategy first identifies populations that have been disproportionately affected by HIV. Specifically, people who use drugs, gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men in Latina/x/o populations, and older adults (pg. 25-26). Our CFAR has prioritized efforts to reduce disparities in these populations through our Latina/x/o , Drug User Health , Sexual and Gender Minorities and Aging and Comorbidities SIGs.
• The Strategy highlights the need to increase care for older adults living with HIV, many of whom are long-term survivors in the strategies 2.5.1-2.5.5 that are closely related to the Aging and Comorbidities SIG (pg. 44).
  • “Promote research, cross-agency collaborations and sharing of research discoveries that address specific aging-related conditions in people with HIV, and other comorbidities and coinfections that can impact people with HIV of all ages” (strategy 2.5.4, pg. 45)
  • “Develop and optimize collaborative multi-agency and multi-sectoral approaches and strategies to address emergent and evolving challenges facing people living with HIV at various life stages to support healthy aging with HIV” (strategy 2.5.5, pg. 45)
• The Strategy emphasizes the importance of implementation research in developing interventions that facilitate uptake and retention in priority populations (strategy 2.3.3, pg. 43). Our Ending the HIV Epidemic SWG has prioritized developing high-impact implementation science initiatives that will bring an end to the HIV epidemic in local, regional, and national 'hotspots' in their goals.
• The Strategy addresses the need to develop next-generation HIV therapies to achieve an HIV cure globally. Objective 2.6 states, “Collaboration must exist on a global scale, as much of the research on these new therapies are being done in the highest incidence setting.” (pg.45). Our Global SIG creates a platform to identify and advocate for high incidence and resource-constrained settings around the globe.

Finally, the Strategy offers insight into the progress we have made and the progress yet to come in diversifying the HIV workforce and expanding the reach of HIV research.

• “Promote the expansion of existing programs and initiatives designed to increase the numbers of non-White research and health professionals” (objective 3.5.1, pg. 56)
• “Increase support for the implementation of mentoring programs for individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds to expand the pool of HIV research and health professionals” (strategy 3.5.2, pg. 56)
• “Encourage the implementation of effective recruitment of community partners” (strategy 3.5.3, pg. 56)

The strategies above not only relate to the SIGs and SWGs but to the overall DC CFAR mission as well. Through the Pilot Awards program, Academic-Community Partnership Awards program, mentoring program, and Community Partnership Council, the CFAR aims to drive the development of HIV investigators with diverse backgrounds while engaging and promoting our community partners in the fight to end HIV. The National Strategy gives individuals and organizations an opportunity to expand their efforts to end the HIV epidemic and support long-term survivors of HIV. We aim to continue to do just that.