TWC POLICY & ADVOCACY PROGRAM

The Women’s Collective Policy & Advocacy Program works to ensure that women living with HIV/AIDS, or those who are at high-risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, are an integral part of national debates about issues that affect their lives. We provide women with the necessary informational tools to voice their opinions and to tell their inspirational stories to policy makers, decision makers and concerned members of their community.

The Whitehouse to Unveil National HIV/AIDS Strategy

WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, July 13, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Melody Barnes, Office of National AIDS Policy Director Jeffrey Crowley, and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Howard Koh will unveil the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS) and discuss its goals and details.

The NHAS is a comprehensive plan focused on: 1) reducing the number of people who become infected with HIV, 2) increasing access to care and optimizing health outcomes for people living with HIV, and 3) reducing HIV-related health disparities.

The plan will serve as a roadmap for policymakers, partners in prevention, and the public on steps the United States must take to lower HIV incidence, get people living with HIV into care, and reduce HIV-related health disparities.

The National HIV/AIDS Strategy will be launched at the White House on July 13 at 2 pm EDT. Watch the live video stream at http://www.AIDS.gov and http://www.whitehouse.gov. Read about the event.

TWC Welcomes Advocates From Around the Nation to DC

From April 7th through 10th, 40 advocates, all women living with HIV/AIDS, from around the nation are gathering in DC to focus their energy and talent on the issue of reproductive justice for women living with HIV/AIDS. This meeting will offer women a chance to connect, network, share ideas, and strategize on effective approaches to ensuring women living with HIV/AIDS have a visible presence in the reproductive justice movement.

The national advocates network, organized and supported by TWC, is titled PLUS - Positive Leaders Uplifting Sisters. PLUS seeks to raise the visibility of women living with HIV/AIDS at the local, state, regional and national level to affect policy change. 

We would like to welcome all the PLUS members who have traveled from near and far to share their vision and strength! 

For more information on PLUS contact Iris Jacob, Policy & Advocacy Coordinator. 

TWC Supports DC Healthy Schools Act of 2009

The Women’s Collective supports the Healthy Schools Act of 2009, which recognizes the importance of comprehensive health education for all students in the DC school system.

Abby Charles, SisterAct Program Coordinator, provided testimony to the Joint Public Hearing on Bill 18-564, the “Healthy Schools Act of 2009” on March 26, 2010. In her statement she spoke directly to the importance of health education for girls in the Washington, DC metropolitan area.

"As an agency we know girls lack basic knowledge about their bodies and their health and they all have many questions that they want and need to have answered - basic and accurate knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention contibutes to a decrease in risk behaviors among girls, as evidenced in our SisterAct program," stated Abby at the hearing. 

To find our more, contact Abby. 

Women and Agencies Protest Lack of Black Women on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS

The Women's Collective signed on to a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, protesting the fact that Black women are not represented on the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS or PACHA. The protest letter, circulated by the National Black Women's HIV/AIDS Network, notes that of the 24 individuals choosen to be a part of PACHA, there is a clear absence of representation from Black women openly living with HIV/AIDS. The letter urges Secretray Sebelius to ensure the critical voice of Black women among PACHA membership.

Make your voice heard by signing on and urging representation of Black women on PACHA by contacting our Policy & Advocacy team.

Work on the National AIDS Strategy Continues

In April 2009, the Ford Foundation held a Women and HIV Strategic Advocacy Convening for funded organizations working on issues related to human rights, women, and HIV/AIDS. Representatives from these organizations determined a series of policy recommendations to guide the new Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP), and related agencies in their efforts to achieve better outcomes for women living with and affected by HIV.

Recommendations focus on reducing stigma and improving the human rights, prevention, and care and treatment needs of women living with and at risk for HIV infection were developed into a document entitled: Critical Issues for Women and HIV: Health Policy and the Development of a National AIDS Strategy. These policy directives were developed to inform the broader health care reform agenda, and the development of a National AIDS Strategy.

As the domestic HIV epidemic has become increasingly feminized, racialized, and impoverished over the past two and half decades, the development of an informed and appropriate response to the prevention and care needs of women, including transgender women, who are living with or vulnerable to HIV infection has become urgent. The vast majority of HIV-positive women in the United States are women of color who disproportionately live in poverty, care for children and families, and lack access to quality health care that adequately meets their needs. Recent studies demonstrate pervasive stigma and bias about women living with HIV, and statistics clearly show that health care systems have woefully neglected the complex medical, economic, and societal reality of HIV-positive women.

We look forward to continuing our work with the Administration and with the Office of National AIDS Policy to achieve prevention and care outcomes that truly meet the needs of women living with and vulnerable to HIV infection.

Letters sent to House and Senate Members Outlining Issues effecting Women Living with HIV/AIDS in Health Care Reform

Recommendations were sent to help to guide Congress during the final development of a historic health care reform bill. The health care needs of people living with and affected by HIV represent a microcosm of both the weaknesses and successes of our health care system. By including the needs of women affected by HIV in the development of health care reform, Congress will not only serve this community but also all Americans in need of affordable, comprehensive, and high quality health care.

Letter to Senators
Letter to Representatives

Talking Points Developed on Health Care Reform and Women Living with HIV/AIDS Developed

TWCs Policy & Advocacy Department has created a Health Care Talking Points guide for advocates on health care reform. This tool will assist you in meaningfully discussing health care reform and its importance to women living with HIV/AIDS to public leaders in your area locally and nationally.