An associate professor at Touro College of Pharmacy in New York, Dr. Deborah Williams uses advocacy, education, and enlightenment to improve health outcomes in impoverished communities. A former member of the Congressional Committee for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean and Africa, Deborah Williams, MD, is the program evaluator for the HIV Prevention Project for Tribal Colleges and Universities.

1. Dr. Deborah Williams
HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs
Leading to Reduced Diagnoses

2. Introduction
 An associate professor at Touro College of Pharmacy in
New York, Dr. Deborah Williams uses advocacy,
education, and enlightenment to improve health outcomes
in impoverished communities. A former member of the
Congressional Committee for HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean
and Africa, Deborah Williams, MD, is the program
evaluator for the HIV Prevention Project for Tribal Colleges
and Universities.
HIV/AIDS continues to be a significant problem in the
United States. It is estimated that up to 1.2 million people
live with HIV in the country, and of these, one in eight do
not know they have the virus. Young people are the most
likely to be unaware of their status. Up to 44% of the
people aged 13-24 who are living with the virus do not
realize they are infected. This is why HIV/AIDS awareness
and prevention programs are crucial to reducing the

3. HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs
 Today, these programs are showing progress. In
2014, about 44,073 people tested positive for HIV in
the United States. This was 19% fewer than those
diagnosed in 2005. In the same period diagnoses
among women fell 40%, and among African American
women the decline was 42%. Among all
heterosexuals, the decline was 35%. Among
individuals who used drugs intravenously, diagnoses
declined 63%.
Even in the male gay and bisexual community, which
continues to account for the largest share of new
infections, progress has been noted. Diagnoses
dropped 18% among white gay and bisexual men
from 2005 to 2014. Among young African American
gay and bisexual men, diagnoses declined 2% from