Disclosing to my `Sarah Palin Republican neighbors’

Jesse Milan Jr., vice president and director of community health systems at Altarum in Washington, D.C., is HIV positive. He said that Americans must get to know HIV positive people – not just learn the numbers put out by the CDC.

``I just came out as a person living with HIV with my Sarah Palin Republican neighbors,’’ he said. ``Now, to them, there is a face behind the numbers. And I have to tell you, my Sarah Palin Republican neighbors cannot stop hugging me.’’

He called on the media to tell the stories of people in difficult situations. ``What’s it like to be that woman who can’t get to her HIV appointment today because she doesn’t have bus fare, or child care? Maybe we should try to find that woman who was beaten last night because she asked her man to put on a condom. What about that emotionally scarred woman, what would have happened to her if she were to ask her man, `Where was he last night?' ’’

He continued, ``Who are those 21 percent of Americans who do not know their status? Many may be afraid that if they learned their status, they might not be able to eat off grandma’s china next week for Thanksgiving.’’

Milan also took aim at national policymakers for not developing a national HIV strategy.

``Had routine testing been a part of a national plan, we might have had coordinated strategy and goals. But a national plan doesn’t exist in this country. There has been a plan for PEPFAR (the US global AIDS program) which has mandated that those countries it gives funding to must have a national plan. Their goals have been met in the first five years of PEPFAR. But do we have a goal of how many people should know their status through routine testing? No, we don’t. When we connect something to a goal we ensure strategies to ensure its success.’’