The following is a statement from National Minority AIDS Council Director of Legislative & Public Affairs Kali Lindsey:
Washington, DC – “The National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC) congratulates President Obama on his re-election. Over the last four years, the president has proven himself to be a reliable ally in the fight against HIV/AIDS. From his release of the first ever National HIV/AIDS Strategy to his signing of the historic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, President Obama has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to ensuring the health and wellbeing of Americans, while also working to promote health equity. His efforts, along with a number of recent biomedical advances like treatment as prevention and pre-exposure prophylaxis, have positioned us to accomplish that which has eluded our nation and the world for more than three decades, an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
“We congratulate all those who won last night, and are especially pleased by the many successes for the LGBT community. But, as the campaign season comes to a close, and our nation returns to the business of governing, we face a number of significant challenges. Our finances remain dismal and the ideological gulf between the parties remains. Sequestration alone threatens more than $650 million in critical HIV/AIDS and viral hepatitis funding. But combatting this epidemic is not a partisan issue. Both parties have shown admirable leadership in this fight. As president, Barack Obama has proven his commitment to fighting and ultimately ending this epidemic time and time again. NMAC is proud of its close relationship with this administration and is committed to working with it and the 113th Congress to accomplish that goal and realize the vision laid out by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of an ‘AIDS-free generation.’”
###
Contact: Kyle Murphy, (202) 483-6622 ext. 333, kmurphy@nmac.org