CHLPI has a long history of advocacy for access to health care for people impacted by HIV. From our origins as the first law school clinic providing legal services for people living with HIV to our policy work advancing access to care today, we have emphasized that the nation’s health care laws must be able to meet this community’s needs. We further recognize the disproportionate impact of the domestic HIV epidemic on racial, gender, and other minorities, and strive to advance policy priorities that acknowledge and reduce these inequities.
Our Approach
CHLPI serves as a co-chair of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership – HIV Health Care Access Working Group (HHCAWG). As a co-chair, CHLPI convenes meetings, analyzes and translates federal and state policy developments for the HIV community, drafts comments on behalf of HHCAWG, and collaborates with other HHCAWG members to advance policy priorities that protect access to care.
Each year, CHLPI also teams up with AIDS United and the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus to plan and present AIDSWatch, the largest national, constituent-based HIV advocacy event. AIDSWatch brings together people living with and impacted by HIV in Washington, DC to learn about current policy issues and advocate for laws and policies that will help end the U.S. HIV epidemic.
As a co-presenter of the event, CHLPI helps produce annual policy briefs that highlight opportunities to strengthen the federal response to HIV. These briefs recognize the intrinsic connection between HIV and other key issues, such as civil rights and reproductive justice. CHLPI also supports AIDSWatch to present timely programming about legal and policy issues that affect access to healthcare for people living with HIV and those with reasons for HIV prevention.
Watch “Facing the Future Together: Winter AIDSWatch 2026“
To learn more about AIDSWatch, read reflections from CHLPI students that attended past events:
- Building People-Centered HIV Advocacy: Lessons from AIDSWatch and the Health Law and Policy Clinic
- Advocating for inclusive policy making through the Health Law and Policy Clinic, AIDSWatch, and Beyond
- The 2023 AIDSWatch Conference: 30 years of Progress, an Opportunity for Reflection and Further Focus