During the June 2024 meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA), HIV.gov caught up with several Council Members and federal partners to get their perspectives on some of the topics being discussed. Here’s a roundup.

HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day

The PACHA meeting opened on June 5, which is HIV Long-Term Survivors Awareness Day. Miguel Gomez, Director of HIV.gov, spoke with PACHA members Alicia Diggs, MPH, and Jesse Milan, JD, co-chairs of PACHA’s Aging with HIV, Long-Term and Lifetime Survivors Subcommittee, about the observance. Watch their conversation below:

Mpox Update

Miguel also spoke with his colleague from the HHS Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) Tevin Warren, DrPH, MPH, about the current status of mpox in the U.S. and mpox disparities experienced by Black and Latino communities. As part of the HHS Summer of Pride campaign, Dr. Warren encouraged viewers to talk to a health care provider about whether the mpox vaccine, as well as other HIV, STI, and sexual health services and resources are right for them. Watch their conversation:

HIV PrEP Update

PACHA Member Patrick Sullivan, PhD, Co-chair of PACHA’s Global Subcommittee, re-capped some of his observations on what the latest HIV data tell us about what is needed to best utilize the highly effective tools available to end the HIV epidemic. He underscored the importance of sufficient coverage of PrEP and HIV treatment, deployed in the areas where they are most needed, delivered equitably to ensure that the people with greatest need have the most access, and sustained over time. View Dr. Sullivan’s conversation with LCDR Nelly Gazarian, PharmD, MS, Senior Policy Analyst at OIDP:

Impact of Anti-LGBTQIA+ Laws Domestically and Globally on the HIV Response

PACHA Member Jennifer Kates, PhD, Co-chair of PACHA’s Global Subcommittee, spoke with Miguel about a panel she coordinated that examined the recent increases in anti-LGBTQIA+ laws in the U.S. and globally, and the impact of these laws on healthcare access and outcomes. Watch their conversation:

State Health Department Leaders Discuss Systems-Level Approaches

PACHA Co-chair Vincent Guilamo-Ramos, PhD, MPH, RN, discussed a panel that he facilitated featuring perspectives from three state health department leaders who reflected on the critical importance of state-level policies on HIV services and health outcomes generally. They highlighted topics including healthcare financing, integration of clinical care and social care to meet the needs of the whole person and improve outcomes, and centering equity. Watch Dr. Guilamo-Ramos’ conversation with HIV.gov’s Freddy Galea:

Ending the HIV Epidemic and CMS Updates

Miguel also spoke with PACHA Member Darrell Wheeler, PhD, MPH, MSW, about a panel he co-facilitated featuring federal agency perspectives on progress to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. Dr. Wheeler remarked that the Council members benefited from hearing so many federal partners perspectives. He was pleased to hear that the integration of services is a focus of many agencies along with working to address stigma and advance syndemic approaches. One of the federal panelists, Jessica Lee, MD, MHS, Acting Chief Medical Officer at the Center for Medicaid & CHIP Services in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), joined the discussion to share a few highlights on recent activities to increase access to high quality care and advance health equity. View their conversation below.

Other Updates from PACHA

In addition to these conversations, HIV.gov also spoke with CDC’s Dr. Jonathan Mermin about the new CDC guidelines on the use of doxy PEP for the prevention of bacterial sexually transmitted infections and with PACHA Co-chair Dr. Guilamo-Ramos about accelerating HIV disparities among gay and bisexual Latino menExit Disclaimer.

Learn more about this and other PACHA meetings on HIV.gov.