[1991 Annual Report, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research]

1.9.9.1
"1 + 9* 9 1
INTROD U CTION
Founded in early 1987, Americans for a Sound AIDS/HIV Policy was established to
educate the general public, medical/public health community, religious and business
ommunities, as well as state and local elected officials about the impact of the
AIDS/HIV epidemic.
To that end, ASAP has held four national conferences featuring the world's leading
researchers and clinicians; sponsored seminars for a variety of target audiences; spoken
on college and high school campuses; produced a broad range of epidemic-related
resource publications; testified before Congressional committees, the Presidential Commission on the HIV Epidemic, the Food and Drug Administration, and numerous state
legislatures; and worked one-on-one with families across the nation impacted by HIV
disease.
ASAP espouses five tenets foundational to a balanced and effective response to the
epidemic, which determine the organization's programs, publications and strategy. They
have not changed since our beginning in 1987.
1) Promoting the value of early diagnosis of HIV disease;
2) Limiting the spread of the epidemic through traditional public health intervention strategies, such as voluntary and confidential partner notification;
3) Engendering a compassionate response to anyone infected or affected by HIV
disease;
4) Facilitating the development of treatments, vaccines, diagnostics, and a cure for
HIV disease; and
5) Addressing access to health care in respect to HIV disease.
ASAP's position of dealing with the epidemic from a medical/public health
position-and not allowing other agendas to dictate its response-has sometimes sparked
debate, but also fostered respect and acceptance as the epidemic continues to spread to
all segments of our nation's population.
In 1987, when ASAP was formed, promoting early diagnosis was an unpopular position. Few in the nation's scientific, medical, and public health communities embraced
the importance of diagnosing HIV disease, and fewer in the communities most affected
viewed diagnosis as an acceptable response. Today, leaders in science, medicine, public
health, public policy, and activist communities both recognize and promote the value of
early diagnosis of HIV disease. ASAP's role in accomplishing this objective should not
be underestimated.