Harold Phillips, the recently appointed Director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), recently spoke with HIV.gov about his role and priorities. In late August, we asked Harold about ONAP, his role as its director, and his top priorities for the next six months.

Harold provided an overview of what ONAP is; shared that ONAP is leading the process to update the existing HIV National Strategic Plan to address several Biden-Harris Administration priorities for release in December 2021 as the third National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS); and discussed some of the office’s other priorities, including enhancing community engagement in the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. Watch the conversation hereExit Disclaimer.

HIV.gov also asked Harold about how ONAP is working with partners and stakeholders to ensure the incorporation of their feedback into the NHAS. “Community input is really important and vital to our success. We’re going to figure out how that feedback fits into the goals, objectives, and strategies of the revision. We’ll use some of the ideas for implementation and program design and tweaks within the coming years, as we look at different ways and funding for HIV services and activities.”

He additionally noted that ONAP will focus on working on the HIV response within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Please follow the HIV.gov blog for more conversations with Harold Phillips. Read about Harold’s appointment to lead ONAP.