Fact Sheet for Policy Makers and Legislators on HIV/AIDS

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 1.2 million
Americans are living with HIV and around 40,000 infections happen every year (Alcamo, 2018).
Globally, 37 million people live with the virus and 2.1 million get infected each year. These
figures, while still high, represent a drop in HIV infections from their peak in 2005 (Alcamo,
2018). The progress that has been made in reducing HIV infections and prevalence over the past
years can be attributed to the work of advocates across the world and strong political leadership
including that of the US Congress and the government’s executive branch.
Thanks to this leadership, millions of people across the world now have access of life-
saving antiretroviral drugs. In particular, funding by President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS
Relief (PEPFAR) has helped close to 11.5 million people to access these life-saving drugs
(Alcamo, 2018). This figure represents 63% of all people using the drugs across the world.
Antiretroviral drugs have been so effective that some patients have managed viral suppression. A
state of viral suppression not only reduces the likelihood of their transmission to their sexual
partners to zero but also allows them to live healthier and longer lives. The biggest positive
impact of the use of antiretroviral drugs has perhaps been in averting mother-to-child
transmission which has allowed children born of infected mothers to live without the disease.
Despite these advances, HIV/AIDs still remains a major American and global public
health problem. Millions of people still live with the disease and many others continue getting
infected on a daily basis. HIV/AIDS should, therefore, remain a critical priority in the US

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government’s public health policies. My request is that you continue pushing for the following
activities that have the potential of eventually creating a HIV/AIDS-free world.
 Support for organizations and programs involved in addressing the HIV/AIDS problem
globally. The key organizations and programs in this fight are Global Fund and PEPFAR.
 Support funding for HIV/AIDS research. Current research is focused on, among other
areas, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.
 Support funding for programs that help at-risk groups. In the US HIV/AIDS pandemic
does not affect everyone equally. It is more widespread among African Americans,
Latinos, substance abusers, and gay men. There is, therefore, need to increase resources
to programs that target these groups.
Role of Nurse in Agenda Setting of the Healthcare Issue
Nurses are not just providers of healthcare services, they also play a key role in agenda
setting for various healthcare issues. Their experience, expertise, professional ethics, and values
place them in an important position of shaping healthcare policies, programs, and legislations.
Their exercise of this role not only increases desired resources but also improves the quality of
healthcare.
With regards to HIV/AIDS, nurses can shape the agenda by providing reliable
information on what needs to be done to solve the healthcare problem (Milstead & Short, 2019).
Coming from nurses, such information is likely to carry weight because of their real world
experience treating HIV/AIDS patients and their power as experts.

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They can also initiate specific policy proposals through participating in various policy
workshops. They can then push for the desired policies through writing newspaper editorials and
position statements supporting a given course of action (O’Rourke et al., 2017). They can directly
submit their proposals to political leaders in Congress and to the president himself.

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References

Alcamo, I. (2018). AIDS in the modern world. Blackwell Science.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health policy and politics: A nurse’s guide (6th ed.).
Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
O’Rourke, N. C., Crawford, S. L., Morris, N. S., & Pulcini, J. (2017). Political efficacy and
participation of nurse practitioners. Policy, Politics, and Nursing Practice, 18(3),
135–148. doi:10.1177/1527154417728514