President Barack Obama included AIDS in his first State of the Union speech after his reelection: “In many places, people live on little more than a dollar a day. So the United States will join with our allies to eradicate such extreme poverty in the next two decades by connecting more people to the global economy; by empowering women; by giving our young and brightest minds new opportunities to serve; and helping communities to feed, and power, and educate themselves; by saving the world’s children from preventable deaths; and by realizing the promise of an AIDS-free generation, which is within our reach.” Advocates applauded the inclusion of AIDS in the speech. However, they urged Obama not to make expected huge cuts to global HIV funding, which they claim would undermine the goal of an AIDS-free generation.

To read the speech, click here.