The White House Office of National AIDS Policy (ONAP) hosted a panel discussion May 13 about the role of public-private partnerships in the fight against HIV/AIDS. These partnerships can increase access to care and optimize health outcomes, which is one of the primary goals of the Obama administration’s national HIV/AIDS strategy.

Panel members included Kandy Ferree, president and CEO of the National AIDS Fund (NAF), and Anthony Hooper, president of the Americas at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS). As a case study, they discussed a new program titled Positive Charge.

BMS developed Positive Charge to help reduce disparities in access to care for people with HIV/AIDS. A component of the program is a charitable grant made by BMS to NAF, which identifies and distributes funds to grantees at the local level with programs designed to increase access to care.

Other participants included Melody Barnes, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council; Sonal Shah, director of the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation; Jeffrey Crowley, director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy; and representatives from HIV/AIDS service organizations and philanthropic groups.