July 14, 2004

Connecting to Care Addresses “Unmet Need”
in HIV Treatment and Care
Half a Million HIV-Positive People in U.S. Not in Regular Medical Care

Washington, DC – Connecting to Care: Addressing Unmet Need in HIV is a new guide that highlights approaches, methodologies, and interventions that community-based organizations in the U.S. can use to successfully bring people living with HIV into a system of medical treatment and care. The publication provides detailed guidelines, as well as inspiration, for implementing innovative programs that expand access to HIV care for all individuals, including those not reached by traditional, broad-based approaches. Connecting to Care, published by the AIDS Action in collaboration with the HIV/AIDS Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), includes findings from two years of careful research on best practices for connecting HIV-positive people who know their HIV status to medical care.

To underscore the importance of improving and expanding HIV prevention and treatment efforts in the U.S., AIDS Action recently provided all members of the U.S. Congress with copies of the Connecting to Care guide. The publication was also put into the hands of individuals attending the XV International AIDS Conference in Bangkok, Thailand in support of the conference theme, “Access for All.”

“At a time when the United States is taking a leading role in responding to the global AIDS crisis, we must ensure that we continue to address our domestic epidemic,” stated Congressman Jim McDermott, MD (D-WA), Chair of the Congressional Task Force on International HIV/AIDS. “I am grateful to AIDS Action for its role in drawing our attention to the ‘unmet need’ in HIV and its impact on our nation’s health. The outstanding work done by local organizations will ensure that all HIV positive individuals have access to care.”

The publication is part of AIDS Action’s broader Connecting to Care initiative which is designed to strengthen the domestic response to HIV by providing public health administrators, AIDS service organizations, local health agencies, and other community-based organizations with research, information, and proven interventions for connecting people living with HIV to adequate medical treatment and meaningful care. The initiative recognizes that the front lines of the response to HIV are at the community level.

"It is self-evident that the greatest domestic and foreign policy crisis of our times is the spread of HIV/AIDS,” said Congressman Jim Leach (R-IA). “Caring for those living with the disease is a humanitarian imperative. While strides have been made in the area of care and treatment, there is to date no cure and work continues on prevention strategies. In these circumstances, providing access to quality care is critical."

One goal of the Ryan White CARE Act is to bring HIV-positive people into medical care, and the most recent reauthorization of the act calls for HRSA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to estimate the number of people living with HIV who are not in care.

According to the CDC, nearly one million individuals in the United States are living with HIV. Among this population, approximately 250,000 people are aware of their HIV infection but are not receiving regular medical care, while the remaining 250,000 are not even aware that they are HIV positive —meaning approximately half a million people living with HIV in the U.S. are not engaged in a system of regular health care.

“Connecting people to care helps to curb the spread of new HIV infections,” stated AIDS Action Executive Director Marsha Martin, DSW. “HIV-positive people who are in care,
and thus receiving the education and support that should go along with medical services, are more likely to stay healthy, and engage in safer sexual practices.”

From a medical perspective, HIV positive people receiving treatment and care are less likely to suffer from opportunistic infections and more likely to live longer, healthier lives. Upon connecting to care, people living with HIV can learn about the different treatment strategies and explore nutritional and physical regimens that often complement antiretroviral therapy. Further, they can learn how to monitor their HIV viral load to prevent other health complications.

From an economic perspective, providing primary medical treatment to HIV-positive people is more cost effective — in both the U.S. and abroad — than treating people with severe complications from HIV infections or emergency health conditions that develop when good health management is missing.

AIDS Action strives to end the HIV epidemic by advancing public policies that prevent new infections, provide care for people living with HIV, and support the search for a cure. AIDS Action serves as the national voice for people living with HIV and represents AIDS service organizations, health departments, and a diverse network of community-based organizations across the country.