2008 Policy Priorities:
Embracing the Future

In its 2008 Policy Priorities – Embracing the Future, the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) presents a list of timely and strategic actions needed to advance the fight against HIV/AIDS in Illinois and across the country. The plan that follows is a roadmap and resource for policymakers, AIDS advocates, and the general public. We hope you will join us in championing sound HIV/AIDS policy and law in 2008. Working together, we can embrace and shape our future.

At the beginning of 2008, the challenges facing HIVAIDS advocates remain daunting. Long-awaited national data is widely expected to show a 30-50 percent increase in annual HIV infections: from 40,000 to as high as 60,000. The epidemic in the U.S. continues to disproportionately affect gay men and other men who have sex with men, injection drug users, and increasing numbers of women, particularly from communities of color. Equally alarming, tens of thousands of Illinoisans with HIV/AIDS remain under- and un-insured and/or undiagnosed, and only a fraction of existing needs for life-saving HIV prevention, care, and housing services are currently being met in Illinois and across the country.

At the same time, the nation is witnessing the most competitive field of presidential candidates in recent memory. These factors create opportunities to directly engage policymakers at all levels to respond to the expanding HIV/AIDS epidemic.

The following plan is the product of a far-reaching process to gather community input on AFC’s 2008 policy agenda. We thank the hundreds of AIDS advocates from across Illinois who provided valuable input. With help from AFC’s Policy/Advocacy Committee, the dozens of suggestions were ranked and organized into eight priority issues.

Working together we can and must mobilize support to address elevated rates of HIV transmission, protect the rights of affected communities, and do all we can to ensure people with and at risk for HIV/AIDS gain access to needed testing, prevention, healthcare, housing, and support services. This is a time of uncertainty and change for the HIV/AIDS community, one that should not be feared, but rather embraced.

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Printable Document (PDF)

Introduction

Summary

Prevention

Care

Illinois HIV/AIDS Statistics

Printable Illinois HIV/AIDS Statistics (PDF)