We will continue to gather input to inform development of the next iterations of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and National Viral Hepatitis Action Plan (NVHAP), and will also gather input for federal efforts to address sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) with a listening session at the CDC National HIV Prevention Conference next week. I am pleased that Dr. Jonathan Mermin, Director of CDC’s National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention, and Dr. Laura Cheever, HRSA’s Associate Administrator for the HIV/AIDS Bureau, will be joining us to hear your ideas.

As we have previously shared, the current NHAS and NVHAP both expire in 2020 and we have begun work in collaboration with agencies and offices across HHS and with partners from other Federal departments to develop the next iterations of both national strategies.

If you are attending the conference, we invite you to join us and share your thoughts. The listening session will be held on Thursday, March 21, 2019, from 8:30–10:00 AM in Regency VI at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta.

Your ideas can help shape our national responses to HIV and viral hepatitis, and also to STDs, as we seek to move together as a nation toward the goals of preventing new infections, improving health outcomes, and reducing deaths related to these diseases in the United States.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts in Atlanta.