Last month, we attended the 2010 HIV Prevention Leadership SummitExit Disclaimer in Washington, D.C. This year’s Summit offered an opportunity to discuss innovative strategies and share lessons learned for enhancing HIV prevention programs. Participants included grantees funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), state and local health departments, community planning group (CPG) members, capacity building assistance providers, community-based organizations, and other interested HIV prevention partners.

One of the primary themes was the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), which was released by the President last July. Chief among the speakers who reflected on the Strategy were Mr. Jeff Crowley, Director of the Office of National AIDS Policy and Senior Advisor on Disability Policy at the White House, Dr. Howard Koh, Assistant Secretary for Health at HHS, Dr. Ronald Valdiserri, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases at HHS, and Dr. Kevin Fenton, Director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention at CDC.

We also had an opportunity to attend a session on “Planning for Implementation of the National Strategy at the State and Local Levels” where we spoke with Mario Perez, Member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). These leaders shared their thoughts about implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy at the state and local level in the video below.