AIDS Treatment Programs Expanded
White House officials ensured the public that these funds would come from existing resources and no congressional approval would be needed. Sadly, only 28% of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV have their infection under control. Because of this low percentage, it increases the risk of unknowingly exposing the virus to the public. In New York alone there are over 110,000 people living with HIV/AIDS. According to the CDC, as many as one in five U.S. adults infected with HIV are unaware of it and only half receive ongoing medical care and treatment.
Obama is also calling for other nations to reinforce their commitments and for individuals to become donors to expand access to AIDS drugs. President Obama has pledged U.S. support to help 6 million people in countries hit the hardest by the virus to gain access to antiretroviral drugs by the end of 2013. This new goal increases the initial pledge of 2 million by the US. ``The rate of new infections may be going down elsewhere, but it`s not going down here in America,`` the President said. ``There are communities in this country being devastated still by this disease. When new infections among young, black, gay men increase by nearly 50 percent in three years, we need to do more to show them that their lives matter.``