The Obama administration on Tuesday announced a new national strategy aimed at reducing new HIV infections 25 percent over the next five years.

The goal of the strategy announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius is to reduce new infections and provide access to patients who are infected with “unfettered access” to a high-quality kind of life-extending care “free from stigma and discrimination.”

To meet the established goal, the government plans to implement a three-pronged strategy; reducing the number of infected individuals, increasing access to care, and decreasing HIV-related health disparities.

In a presidential memorandum submitted to federal departments, President Obama said, "The actions we take now will build upon a legacy of global leadership, national commitment, and sustained efforts on the part of Americans from all parts of the country and all walks of life to end the HIV epidemic in the United States and around the world."

The strategy will focus on intensifying HIV prevention efforts among communities where the disease is concentrated; direct federal grants to organizations dealing with HIV high-risk groups like homosexual and bisexual men, drug abusers who risk infection from contaminated injection needles; and stress educational and safer biomedical and behavioral approaches to reduce the spread of the disease. The latter approach will stress the advantages of condom use, practicing abstinence (especially among teens), encouraging HIV testing by more people, and providing access to sterile needles.

The government is concerned that there is some degree of complacency in several communities since the spread of the disease has slowed. However, according to the White House, 56,000 Americans still are infected with HIV annually, and over a million Americans are living with the disease. In another report, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicated that of those infected, one out of five people are unaware they are infected. The danger of this is that the individual who is unaware of being infected is a serious threat to infect others during unprotected sexual contact.

The CDC has also reported that over 18,000 people die from HIV/AIDS in the U.S. each year. A World Health Organization (WHO) report states that the disease killed approximately two million people worldwide in 2008 and as much as 33 million people are living with HIV worldwide.

In the meantime, U.S. and international scientists are actively researching advanced medication to fight HIV, and a recent report stated that scientist are close to finding a new, more effective drug.

HIV decline among African Youth

In Africa, where HIV/AIDS has been having a serious impact on the population of several countries, there is good news that there have been a decline in the incidence of the disease among the 15-24 age group – a sensitive group for infections.

According to a UNAIDS report released earlier this week, HIV infection has been falling among teens and young adults. “Young people are leading the prevention revolution by taking definitive action to protect themselves,” the report said. As a result HIV prevalence among young people is falling in 16 of the 25 countries most affected by AIDS. The countries showing the strongest decline are Botswana, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia and Zimbabwe. In Kenya, HIV infection among the 15-24 age group fell in urban areas from 14.2 percent in 2000 to 5.4 percent in 2005.

The main reason for the decline is more responsible sexual behavior, with more young people practicing sexual abstinence, and sexual active individuals showing increase use of condoms.