ONAP to Hold Community Meeting and Conference Call on the National HIV/AIDS Strategy

On Friday, May 14, 2010, the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) will hold a community meeting to provide an update and gain additional recommendations for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).  For those who cannot attend the meeting in person, ONAP will hold a conference call shortly after the meeting to discuss the strategy. 

We know the strategy’s success will rely on the participation of our community partners across the country.  That’s why we hosted 14 community discussions across the country, and conducted an online call to action to solicit recommendations via our website. In February, we co-hosted with the Department of Health and Human Services, a community meeting to update the public on our progress and introduce the Federal HIV Interagency Working Group.  Earlier this month, we released a report summarizing community recommendations we received for the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. 

During the May 14 meeting and the conference call, ONAP will provide a brief overview of key priorities and identify issues where additional feedback would be helpful.  Participants will be able to offer suggestions for the strategy, and we encourage public input on the following topics:

•    Involving non-traditional stakeholders in fighting HIV/AIDS
•    Expanding the engagement of key partners including businesses and philanthropy, faith communities, and HIV service providers
•    Ensuring that implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy is successful

Below are details for both the community meeting and conference call:

ONAP COMMUNITY MEETING

When:  Friday, May 14th at 11:00 am (Eastern Time).  Guests should arrive by 10:15am to ensure smooth security processing.)  The meeting will end by 12:30 pm.
Where:   South Court Auditorium in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House
To RSVP for this event, please submit the following information to aidspolicy@who.eop.gov by Close of Business Monday, May, 10th: Full Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Country of Origin, Citizenship.  Members of the public will be accommodated on a first come first served basis as meeting room space is limited.  We will respond to RSVPs to confirm all reservations to attend the event.

ONAP COMMUNITY CONFERENCE CALL

When: Friday, May 14th at 1:00pm (Eastern Time).  The call will end at 2:00 pm (Eastern Time).
Conference Call Phone Number: (800) 288-8961          

Media wishing to attend must send the following information to media_affairs@who.eop.gov by close of business on Monday, May 10: News Outlet, Full Name, Date of Birth, Social Security Number, Country of Origin, Citizenship.

Jeffrey S. Crowley is the Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Policy