Taking a look at Obama's AIDS plan (PDF) is like reading my policy wish list. He promises to leave behind ideology-driven debates over how to spend money, and instead put common sense and science first. He wants to end our funding of programs that only discuss abstinence and fidelity without a mention of condoms. He would no longer negotiate harmful trade deals that prioritize drug company profits over people's lives. And he wants to invest fully in the fight against global AIDS, both through bilateral programs and the multilateral Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria.
Domestically, his plan is spot-on. He's calling for the development of a National AIDS Strategy, including expanding Medicaid to cover people with HIV, not just AIDS, and ending the federal ban on funding for syringe exchange. He recognizes that we must do more to confront the epidemic of HIV communities of color, especially amongst gay men and other men who have sex with men, and calls for action on this issue.
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