Washington DC, Oct 30 (THAINDIAN NEWS) President Obama signed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension act today. The House of Representatives on Wednesday had passed the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act by a vote of 408-9, and then sent the bill to President Barack Obama’s desk for his official authorization.


The crucial bill is a product of bipartisan, bicameral compromise and will fund critical HIV/AIDS treatment and some prevention programs through 2013 at about $2.5 billion annually, a 5% increase for all sections of the act.
 
The program helps about 500,000 mostly low-income and uninsured people living with AIDS/HIV annually, according to the Government Accountability Office.


President Obama said, ‘We often speak about AIDS as if it’s going on somewhere else. And for good reason — this is a virus that has touched lives and decimated communities around the world, particularly in Africa. But often overlooked is the fact that we face a serious HIV/AIDS epidemic of our own — right here in Washington, D.C., and right here in the United States of America. And today, we are taking two important steps forward in the fight that we face here at home.’

The Ryan White CARE Act, is named after a teenager Ryan White who contracted AIDS through a blood transfusion, was originally passed in 1990 and has since been extended three times. Ryan White was denied entry in his school because of his HIV status, even though doctors said that he posed no threat to his classmates.