WASHINGTON, July 13 (UPI) -- The Obama administration said it is changing tactics in the United States' fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS.
The White House showed off the new policy Monday ahead of a speech by U.S. President Barack Obama on the "domestic epidemic." The program doesn't increase funding on HIV/AIDS -- currently about $19 billion a year -- but does set a series of goals and orders federal agencies to take steps to lower a growing HIV infection rate.
About 1.1 million people in the United States are said to be infected with HIV, the virus that can cause those infected to develop AIDS. Each year more than 50,000 people are infected with HIV.
The White House program targets four groups -- African-Americans, gay and bisexual men, Hispanics and illegal drug abusers -- as "populations at highest risk."
Some of the goals of the program include reducing the rate of new HIV cases by 30 percent and decreasing the percentage of people who are infected but don't know it from 21 percent to 10 percent.
