AIDS Action’s Year in Review, 2009

Welcome to AIDS Action’s Annual Year in Review issue. Just as the events of 2008 spilled over into 2009, the contours of 2010 are now being shaped by the happenings of 2009. Nevertheless, we feel the end of the year is a useful moment to take stock.

If asked to sum up 2009 in one word, we would choose “change.” Not only did 2009 see a new administration, it also saw a renewed federal focus on the domestic HIV epidemic and a notable shift toward basing public policy and programming on evidence-based public health rather than political ideology, as many harmful  HIV/AIDS policies that had been in place for decades were removed. The year also unleashed the health care reform debate, and created a titanic struggle between the proponents of major change and its opponents.

By year end 2009, the landscape affecting HIV/AIDS public policy had shifted significantly, but the current of change will continue into the New Year. As preparation, following is a summary of 2009.

2009 Report Card for President Obama's HIV/AIDS Initiatives. Rebecca Haag, Executive Director of AIDS Action, published a Guest Opinion in the Bay Windows that reviews key HIV/AIDS policy advancements during the first year of the Obama Administration and highlights the work ahead in 2010. To read to piece, please click here.