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IHPL trains managers to work in community organizations
October 16, 2009
Donna Richter
The Institute for HIV Prevention Leadership, founded by former Arnold School Dean Dr. Donna Richter, has received $1.49 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to support its activities for another year.
The award brings to more than $15 million in funding for the ten-year-old program operated by the CDC through a cooperative agreement with the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH).
The IHPL is a comprehensive, capacity building educational program designed specifically for HIV prevention program managers who work in community-based organizations. The program focuses on CBOs that serve minority and hard-to-reach populations because those groups continue to bear a disproportionate burden of the disease.
Richter said the institute will use part of the grant “to continue its ongoing commitment to its graduates, or Fellows, in the coming grant year. Almost 350 HIV prevention program managers have completed the Institute since 2000, forming an extensive network that spans 38 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
“The ‘battle’ against HIV/AIDS is not one battle—it’s a battle about an infectious disease, it’s a battle about stigma, it’s a battle about poverty and social justice. As the epidemic has matured over the past 25 years, we have found that it’s a new battle all the time; while the incidence of HIV has fallen in some groups, it has risen in others,” Richter said.
Members of the IHPL Class of 2009 gather for a group photo.
Currently HIV/AIDS is considered an epidemic that affects more than one million persons in the U.S. About one-fifth of those with HIV have not yet been diagnosed and are unaware of their infection, according to government estimates.
Many IHPL Fellows reunited with program faculty and staff in Atlanta to celebrate the program’s 10th Anniversary in August, which was held in conjunction with the 2009 National HIV Prevention Conference. The success of the concurrent events has led IHPL leaders to schedule similar gatherings tied to national meetings in the future.
For more information about IHPL, click here to visit its website.
