Medical Students Urge President Obama to Commit to Treating 6 Million HIV Patients by 2013

Nov. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Members of the American Medical Student Association (AMSA), the nation’s oldest and largest, independent association for physicians-in-training, urge President Obama to commit to the elimination of new HIV infections and deaths by ensuring that treatment reach at least 6  million more people globally by 2013 and at least 15 million by 2015.

On December 1, 2011 -  World AIDS Day – the White House is scheduled to make a major announcement. Due to four years of flat-line funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and recent cuts to the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund, AMSA members remain hopeful that President Obama will make a real commitment and acknowledge that as a matter economic survival, national security, and moral harrow, the United States must stand with those directly affected by this pandemic, whose lives hang on the balance.

“For the first time on World AIDS Day, due to scientific advances, we can celebrate that the world has the tools to virtually eliminate continued transmission of a virus that’s claimed the lives of more than 25 million people over the last three decades,” says Danielle Salovich, AMSA national president. “We stand with the world, watching to see if President Obama will make the right decision.”  

“At this critical moment, instead of stepping up to tackle this epidemic, we’ve witnessed the U.S. continued flat-funding of PEPFAR as well as an unprecedented move to renege on our pledge to fund the Global Fund to treat AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,” says Marce Abare, AMSA AIDS Advocacy Network co-chair.

“New science and decades of research has shown that we have the tools–circumcision, sterile syringes, HIV treatment as prevention, condoms, PMTCT, etc—to put an end to this pandemic,” continues Abare. “What we’re lacking is the commitment of our leaders to making the end of AIDS a priority.”

Click here for more information on AMSA’s AIDS Advocacy Network: http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/About/Committees/Global....

Click here for AMSA’s World AIDS Day Toolkit: http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage/Events/WAD.aspx.

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AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at http://www.amsa.org/AMSA/Homepage.aspx.