In the United States, the focus of the IIHE co-Presidents has been on HIV law and policy, specifically on how existing laws and policies impact the chance that someone diagnosed with HIV will disclose his or her status and seek treatment.
Data was gathered from 14 states in collaboration with the Center for Disease Control (CDC), which can be turned into future projects once funding is obtained. The founders of the IIHE have written papers that showed the need to reform HIV policy in the United States.
Other activities of the Presidents led to the following developments:
- New York State Police funding to facilitate better communication between law enforcement and refugees The purpose is to alleviate the key barriers faced by immigrant and refugee communities in accessing law enforcement services and establishing trusting relationships between them.
- Working with CDC and 14 states on HIV disclosure law—analyzing data over 10 years and looking at impact
- Six cities in the US comparing HIV disclosure law and looking at race differences
- Three states (California, Illinois and North Carolina) on HIV for MSM, sex workers and IDUs
- HIV and aging—developing new instrument to measure HIV in the elderly
- Working with DOH on access of refugees to health care services within 12 months of arriving
- Wadsworth Center—impact of prevention of mother-to-child transmission in people with drug resistance
- Lead project in New York state—sending drug users to rehabilitation rather than prison
- Two studies analyzing 106 countries over 10 years on the extent promotion of human rights can protect health and sustainable development