World Aids Day: Obama Announces $100 Million HIV Research Initiative
Editor's Note: World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died, according to worldaidscampaign.org. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988. The 2013 theme for World AIDS Day is “Shared Responsibility: Strengthening Results for an AIDS-Free Generation,” according to aids.gov.
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama has announced a new initiative at the National Institutes of Health in pursuit of a cure for HIV.
Obama says his administration is redirecting $100 million into the project to find a new generation of therapies. He said the United States should be at the forefront of discoveries to eliminate HIV or put it into remission without requiring lifelong therapy.
Obama made the announcement Monday at a White House event marking World AIDS Day, which was Sunday.
The president also announced that the U.S. passed the ambitious goal he set last year to support 6 million people around the globe in getting access to anti-retroviral drugs. Obama said the U.S. helped 6.7 million people receive life-saving treatment.
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