HIV leaders congratulate (and warn) Joe Biden and Kamala Harris

It’s official: Joe Biden beat Donald Trump to become 46th in the nation^th President. When the announcement was made Saturday afternoon that Biden is president-elect and Kamala Harris is vice president-elect, it was followed by much dancing in the streets and official statements from anti-HIV organizations across the country. Below is a summary of excerpts plus some posts on social media; more will be added as they enter.

AIDS UnitedPresident and CEO Jesse Milan Jr. issued a statement that was posted in its entirety on the group’s POZ blog. Read in part:

“As I watched the results flow from Tuesday, I was incredibly impressed by how divided this country is. We have a lot of healing and coalition building work to do. Ending the HIV epidemic is a bipartisan effort, and I encourage the incoming Biden administration to focus on it as a way to build cross-party support. With the support of both parties, it is possible to end the HIV epidemic. “

To find out how Milan proposes that the Biden administration could end the epidemic, read the full blog post.

BREAK: @Joe Biden he just won the US presidential election. This is what we think #POTUS Y @KamalaHarris‘administration will mean for our work: https://t.co/LrEItsGq4Q pic.twitter.com/SOcsBLzVHW

– Health GAP (@HealthGAP) November 7, 2020

Health GAP, the international advocacy group focused on ensuring that all people around the world have access to HIV drugs, describes itself as “lucid” about the struggles ahead, but offers next steps. Here are brief sections of the Health GAP statement:

“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been chosen to lead America in a time of crisis. Since the election of Donald Trump in 2016, America’s worst trends nationally and globally have not only been exposed, but have been launched into prime time and catalyzed with jet fuel … Now, the The health and lives of those most affected by HIV around the world depend on whether the President-Elect Biden will use his time in pursuit of a world where all people living with HIV have access to life-saving treatment , where health care is a human right, where the United States uses its power to confront the greed of pharmaceutical companies, where LGBTQ + rights and women’s rights are protected, and where COVID-19 treatments and vaccines are accessible to everyone, no matter where they live …

“As candidates, Biden and Harris they boldly pledged on how they would work to end the pandemics. Your administration must act quickly to translate those commitments into action. We know that if those plans are to be successful, the incoming Biden-Harris administration must also reject the false shortage and work with Congress to deliver the COVID-19 emergency relief funds that will protect gains made against HIV, TB. and malaria. …

“A commitment to global health is key to justice and equity, in the United States and around the world. Fighting for justice is central to our work, following the example of HIV + leaders, black leaders, queer leaders, women and youth. A Biden White House gives us a chance, but our eyes are clear on the fact that it will take relentless activism and increased commitment from American officials to achieve global health justice, particularly for the poorest and most marginalized among us. “.

LGBT advocacy group Human rights campaign, who also advocates for HIV issues, has described the Biden-Harris ticket as “the most pro-equality ticket in history.” HRC President Alphonso David notes:

“The election of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris proves once again that equality is a winning issue … President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris are not only willing to be our allies, but they are true advocates for equality. And they have for decades. From Biden’s work defending protections against hate crimes in the 1980s to Harris performing some of the first marriages for LGBTQ couples after Proposition 8 was repealed, these leaders have a clear vision that centers unity on the division. A vision in which LGBTQ people are protected from discrimination and given the freedoms and rights that we all should have. A vision in which transgender and gender non-conforming people do not fear for their lives walking down the street. A vision in which LGBTQ children are loved, embraced and protected from bullying.

“But there is a lot of work ahead. Trump, Pence and anti-equality forces left us with illegal and regressive policies that have removed the protections that underserved communities have had for years. In the coming days, the Human Rights Campaign will announce our Plan for positive change, charting the way forward for equality under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The future of our democracy and the search for equality is bright ”.

the HIV + Hepatitis Policy Institute issued a statement from its CEO Carl Schmid. Read in part:

“During the campaign, Biden pledged to end HIV by 2025, five years before the current Trump administration initiative to end HIV … The budget proposal for fiscal year 2022 that the Biden administration will present to Congress will be a strong indicator of whether current efforts to end HIV will be accelerated.

“HIV + Hep also urges President-elect Biden to make ending hepatitis a priority. Hepatitis B and C are two infectious diseases that can be easily prevented by vaccination against hepatitis B and cured for hepatitis C.

“Finally, HIV + Hep looks forward to working with President-elect Biden to ensure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care. We remain committed to ensuring that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) remains the law of the land and is enhanced, as necessary, to better meet the needs of patients. “

Lambda Legal, the national nonprofit legal advocacy team that advocates for LGBT people and people living with HIV, released a statement from its CEO, Kevin Jennings:

“We celebrate the election of Vice President Biden and Senator Harris, who have been key advocates for the civil rights of LGBTQ people and all people living with HIV. But we are also aware of the hard work that lies ahead. Now that our opponents have lost control of the executive branch, we know that we will face renewed efforts to litigate our rights through the judicial branch over the next four years using the Trump-appointed judges that Mitch McConnell has attacked in the past four years. years.

“We are ready for the fight and we are happy to have an ally in the White House to fight alongside us. We look forward to working with the Biden-Harris administration to reverse some of the previous administration’s most heinous efforts to deny and dilute the hard-won rights that we have secured since our founding nearly 50 years ago. “

Congratulations to President-Elect Biden and Vice President-Elect Harris. ????

The people of this country turned out in record numbers for this election and the results are unequivocal. https://t.co/Na9gQeNPYN

– Lambda Legal (@LambdaLegal) November 7, 2020

A joint statement of Latino Commission on AIDS and the Hispanic Health Network expressed not only congratulations, but also the hope that “Biden and his transition team will seek advice and feedback from all sectors of American society to design an upcoming administration driven by urgent public health needs, diverse voices, priorities economic and social issues we face as a nation.

Guillermo Chacón, president of the Latino Commission on AIDS and founder of Hispanic Health Network, added:

“Congratulations to President-Elect Joseph Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. It is time to move beyond politics and put science first to address the global COVID-19 pandemic and begin to protect and care for our nation and US territories. Our hope and desire is that the administration incoming unify our country for a better, just and equal future for all. We congratulate the new members of the House and Senate and look forward to advancing public health goals to better protect and build our economy and address the urgent needs of our country state by state and US Territories. ”

NMAC (formerly the National Minority AIDS Council, which hosts the annual AIDS conference in the US) issued the following statement from Executive Director Paul Kawata:

“NMAC congratulates President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. We are pleased that the new administration is committed not only to an aggressive approach to ending the HIV epidemic, but also to addressing the problems of systemic racism and inequalities that paralyze minority communities’ access to health care. We look forward to working with the new administration to more aggressively pursue the plan to end the HIV epidemic by 2030 and work to end the related STD and hepatitis epidemics. We ask this new administration to look through the lens of racial justice and health equity as they develop their priorities for the next four years. And we will continue to remind you of those commitments as we move forward. “

A congratulatory statement from The AIDS Institute It also details the challenges facing the Biden administration:

“President-elect Biden will inherit multiple public health crises that must be addressed immediately. To date, more than 235,000 people in the US have died from COVID-19, cases of viral hepatitis are skyrocketing, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned of HIV outbreaks. across the country as public health resources have been diverted and restricted to address COVID-19. There are effective public health programs working to combat the spread of infectious diseases, but they have been deprived of resources for years. President-elect Biden must implement a comprehensive national strategy to control the COVID-19 pandemic while rebuilding the public health infrastructure necessary to eliminate HIV and viral hepatitis and keep our nation safe from infectious diseases.

“The AIDS Institute thanks President-elect Biden for his campaign commitment to work vigorously to end the HIV epidemic in the United States. We look forward to working with your administration and Congress to build and expand existing efforts to end HIV. To achieve that lofty goal, significantly greater resources will be needed, as well as dedicated leadership to ensure that these plans respond to the needs of people living with HIV and at risk of contracting it. “