The HOPE Challenge News

On World AIDS Day, The Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions (HCHDS) will launch the Health Opportunities for Policy Equity (HOPE) Challenge initiative, with the first event of the series titled, "HIV and the Politics of Race: The Minority AIDS Initiative at 25," in collaboration with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, NMAC, The Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. The convenings will take place at the newly-opened Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg Center at 555 Pennsylvania Ave on Friday, Dec. 1 at 9 a.m.

Policy Advocates discussed the intersection of HIV/AIDS and race and the importance of the Minority AIDS Initiative during Johns Hopkins University’s World AIDS Day Conference in Washington, DC. Several topics were addressed, including racial equity in health policy, improving access to medicines and therapies in minority communities, funding and resources needed for HIV/AIDS prevention, and the impact of the Supreme Court’s recent decision on affirmative action and reproductive rights. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) spoke about the history and formation of the Minority AIDS Initiative during the World AIDS Day Conference. She also addressed the need for continued HIV/AIDS funding and criticized House Republicans for their plan to cut funding from the 2024 budget request. The Minority AIDS Initiative was spearheaded by Rep. Waters and the Congressional Black Caucus in 1998 to help ensure the necessary federal resources needed to help prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in minority communities.