Posted on April 23, 2014
Source: Newswise
David Holtgrave, PhD, professor and chair of the Department of Health, Behavior and Society at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was appointed this week to the newly created position of Vice Chair of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Holtgrave was appointed to serve on PACHA in 2010.
PACHA provides advice, information and recommendations to the Secretary of HHS and the White House regarding programs and policies intended to improve the U.S. response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic—including to promote effective prevention of HIV and improved delivery of HIV care, treatment and housing services—and to advance research on HIV/AIDS. PACHA also provides recommendations on how to effectively implement the National HIV/AIDS strategy and monitors implementation of the strategy. Holtgrave is one of 24 members who serve on the council, which is comprised of a diverse group of researchers, service providers and community leaders from around the country, including people living with HIV.
“I am deeply honored to accept the appointment as Vice Chair of PACHA,” said Holtgrave. “I look forward to the opportunity to serve the Administration in an expanded advisory capacity and to continue the vitally important work of the council to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this country and around the world.”
Holtgrave’s research has focused on the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of HIV prevention interventions, including the provision of housing as a structural HIV/AIDS intervention. He was previously employed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the Director of the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention – Intervention Research and Support. He also served on an Institute of Medicine panel that examined a variety of strategies for the public sector funding of HIV care and treatment services in the United States.
The U.S. government estimates that there are more than 1.1 million people living with HIV in the United States, and almost one in six are unaware they are living with HIV. Worldwide, more than 35 million people are living with HIV, and the disease is the world’s leading infectious killer.
