AIDS continues to ravage all across the divide, with the virus infection rising among gay men, yet reports suggest that it is now far removed from public consciousness.

This has been attributed to the ‘drug cocktails’ common in the 1990s that have lengthened the life span of victims, improved their quality of life plus better and novel containment methods, treatment and prevention, all lowering the infection rate per annum. Thus, the public perception that people had about the virus has changed with diagnosis of AIDS now not seen as death sentence. In fact, while 44% of Americans thought HIV was the most urgent issue in terms of health that was facing the nation in 1995, only 6 percent indicated the same in 2009.

Policy makers in the country seem to have abandoned treatment and domestic prevention programs investment due to dying public interest. This has not changed even after administrations in the recent past increase their pledges to combat global cases of AIDS, as local budgets are now slashed as funding levels from federal government keeps on stagnating. HIV drugs assistance state-based programs continue to face widening gaps in budgets while there is a growth in demand.

However, the Obama administration has been cited as in line with reversal of the downward spiral of the virus because of the national HIV and AIDS strategy. The strategy is a pioneer in its own terms, aiming to make sure the virus’ rates of infection have been lowered by 25%. This is through increase of care and testing to the public, while making sure all marginalized members of the population are reached and covered.

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