The 2018 National Ryan White Conference on HIV Care and Treatment continued Wednesday. HIV.gov shared video interviews via Facebook Live on two of the key topics being discussed at the conference.

Treatment as Prevention in the Ryan White Program

The first was a conversation about the prevention benefit of HIV treatment that results in viral suppression. We spoke with Dr. Laura Cheever and Harold Phillips of HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB). Dr. Cheever is HRSA's Deputy Administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau and Mr. Philips is the Director of HAB's Office of HIV/AIDS Training and Capacity Development. They discussed the scientific evidence behind treatment as prevention, HAB's participation in an interagency work group to develop a message about this that the agencies could consistently use on this topic, and some of HAB's activities to share this information across the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program.  Watch our conversation below and continue reading to learn about our second conversation from the conference today.

Jurisdictional Plans to End the HIV Epidemic

Many states, counties, and cities have developed or are developing jurisdictional plans to end the HIV epidemic. Those efforts were featured in today's conference plenary session and we caught up with two of the lead presenters from that session, Steven Young and Janet Cleveland. Mr. Young is the Director of HRSA/HAB's Division of Metropolitan HIV/AIDS Programs and the Acting Director of HRSA/HAB's Division of State HIV/AIDS Programs. Ms. Cleveland is the Deputy Director for Prevention Programs at CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention. During our conversation, they shared highlights from the plenary conversation they had with representatives from Arizona; Fulton County, Georgia; and Washington, DC about the plans to end the HIV epidemic that each of their jurisdictions had developed, how they are engaging stakeholders to set ambitious goals and focus and align efforts on collaborative strategies to achieve them. Watch their interview below.

The Conference

Over 4,000 participants have gathered just outside Washington, DC, for the biennial National Ryan White Conference eon HIV Care and Treatment. Healthcare providers, RWHAP recipients and subrecipients, people living with HIV, and other stakeholders are learning about the programmatic and scientific advances in HIV care, treatment, and prevention; sharing best practices; and highlighting innovative models of care all of which helps continue making progress toward ending the HIV epidemic.

More Conversations from the Conference to Follow
As the conference continues this week, we will bring you additional interviews with representatives of HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau and others. Follow us on FacebookExit Disclaimer and TwitterExit Disclaimer for details.