Developing a national HIV/AIDS Prevention Program through state health departments.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shaped the basic development and direction of the HIV/AIDS Prevention Program through technical support and financial assistance for State and local health departments and other organizations. Through this provision of support, CDC has responded to the course of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic by creating programs to preserve the safety of the blood supply, by developing counseling and testing centers, by promoting "safer sex," by promoting health education and risk reduction, by evaluating existing services, by disseminating new technology, and by targeting new at-risk behaviors as the infection spread. Funding has also been used to respond to congressional mandates, evaluations of program effectiveness, and the National Academy of Sciences report, "Confronting AIDS: Directions for Public Health, Health Care, and Research."