AIDS Action Weekly Update Special Edition

Introduction

This week, the HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) convened its biennial conference for Ryan White CARE Act grantees. This meeting (formerly known as "All Titles") brings to Washington, D.C. over 2,000 individuals representing state health departments, community-based organizations, hospitals, clinics, medical and dental schools, faith-based organizations, and other HIV service providers -- all of whom receive funding from at least one title of the CARE Act. The meeting provides grantees with a unique opportunity to attend workshops and sessions on a variety of topics relevant to their training and technical assistance needs.

The 2004 conference is particularly significant, because it is among the few remaining opportunities for such a large number of professionals working with HRSA and for CARE Act programs to come together and consider the strengths and weaknesses of how HIV care is organized and provided in the United States before the Ryan White CARE Act's reauthorization in September 2005. In keeping with this conference, AIDS Action has decided to focus this week's edition of The Weekly Update on one specific aspect of the CARE Act: the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). Here we provide an overview of the history, current status, and potential next steps for this critical program, which provides medication to people living with HIV who would otherwise not be able to afford it.

This special edition of The Weekly Update was authored by AIDS Action staff members, Jessica Tytel, Michael Carrigan, and William McColl.