Federal Implementation

How is the Federal Government Implementing the Strategy?

As a companion to the National HIV/AIDS Strategy the White House also issued a Federal Implementation Plan (PDF 723 KB) that includes immediate, short-term, and longer-term Federal actions that are intended to move the Nation toward improving its response to HIV/AIDS and meeting the Strategy's goals.

Upon the release of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, President Obama also issued a memorandum to the heads of Federal agencies and departments regarding the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy. Agencies across the Federal government immediately began work to implement the actions detailed in it. In addition, the lead federal agencies for implementing the Strategy—the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Justice, Labor, and Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration—submitted to the White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailed operational plans for implementing the Strategy within their agencies. Read more in this blog post.

Agency Operational Plans

These operational plans complement the Federal Implementation Plan that was released with the Strategy. The Federal Implementation Plan details action steps that specific agencies would meet the goals of the Strategy in 2010 and 2011.

Overview of Agency Operational Plans

• English (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Department of Health and Human Services

• English (PDF, 639 KB)

Department of Housing and Urban Development

• English (PDF, 291 KB)

Department of Justice

• English (PDF, 753 KB)

Department of Labor

• English (PDF, 1.2 MB)

Department of Veteran’s Affairs

• English (PDF, 283 KB)

Social Security Administration

• English (PDF, 164 KB)

The lead federal agencies for implementing the Strategy—Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Department of Justice, Labor, Veterans Affairs, and the Social Security Administration submitted to the Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) detailed operational plans for implementing the Strategy within their agencies.

Each agency’s operational plan addresses not only its approach to implementing the actions assigned in the Federal Implementation Plan but also details additional intra- and inter-agency activities and initiatives.

ONAP and OMB also received from the Secretary of Defense a plan for aligning the health care services provided by the Department of Defense with the Strategy; and the Secretary of State submitted recommendations based on lessons learned in implementing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); and the Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) submitted recommendations for increasing employment opportunities for people living with HIV and a plan for addressing employment-related discrimination against people living with HIV.

Ongoing Implementation Activities

Across the government, agencies and offices continue efforts to implement the NHAS and build upon accomplishments and lessons to date.  Among the ongoing activities are:

Consultations with Stakeholders

Implementing the actions called for in the NHAS has involved numerous consultations with Federal partners as well as external stakeholders focusing on specific issues or populations. For example, HHS has convened consultations with leaders from the LGBT communities, persons living with HIV, and others.

Improving Coordination Across the Federal Government

To achieve the Strategy’s goals, we must undertake a more coordinated national response to the epidemic. Toward that end, across the Federal government steps are being taken to increase the coordination of HIV programs. Representatives of the lead Federal agencies with responsibility for implementing the NHAS convene regularly to share implementation progress highlights and explore collaborative efforts.

Within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), a NHAS Implementation Group comprised of representatives of 10 operational divisions and more than 13 staff offices from across HHS began meeting immediately after the NHAS was released and has continued convening regularly to share updates about recent progress on activities detailed in the Department’s NHAS Operational Plan and identify opportunities for further collaboration and program improvement.

Efforts aimed at improving coordination across Federal programs are also underway beyond Washington, DC with regional convenings among Federal colleagues to identify ways to coordinate and collaborate in HIV/AIDS-related activities such as those held in HHS Region II (New York, New Jersey and Puerto Rico), Region IV (in the Southeastern U.S.) and Region VIII (in the Mountain West).