With President
Obama's nomination of Alabama family
physician Regina Benjamin as U.S. Surgeon
General comes a new ally in the fight to eradicate
HIV/AIDS, says AIDS Project Los Angeles's director of
government affairs.
During her speech
accepting the nomination, Benjamin acknowledged her familiarity
with HIV complications and issues, as her brother died at the
age of 44 of an HIV-related illness. Having such a personal
experience, especially a loss, due to HIV/AIDS could have a
strong impact on her policy and public health campaigns,
APLA's Phil Curtis told Advocate.com on Tuesday.
Curtis said that
Benjamin has the ability to reach out to communities that have
been largely underserved by efforts to reduce the rate of
infection.
"We all know that
the numbers have increased, especially in more marginalized
communities, and communities of color," he said. "The
infection rates in young African-American gay men are out of
the ballpark -- it's stratospheric, and tragic. So
prevention messages are something that Dr. Benjamin will have
the opportunity to spread throughout the country."
He added that Benjamin,
who ran her own clinic in rural Alabama, will also be able to
contribute to Congress's current debate on health care
policy, including strategies for early HIV prevention, and
accessibility to prescription drugs.
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