Advocacy activity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Advocacy activity - Essay Example In order to succeed in this task, documenting the changes taking place in terms of legislations and policies, as a tool of social change is hence inevitable. Policy change is one of the greatest foundations, and a highly recommended approach to address the unique challenges faced by the society. The rapidly changing dynamics of the political environment around us clearly highlight the significance of the administration as a professionalizing agent in the field of political science (Furner, 2010). This paper aims to outline an approach to evaluate policy change by highlighting key priorities beginning from a brief overview of the chosen legislation, the significance and scope of the issue, the broad implications of the legislation, as well as an in-depth account of the elected official followed by an explanation of the entire process starting from the basic reasons behind the choice of the elected official an overview of the key points of discussion, to be carried out during the perso nal interview. Summary of the legislation: The key to addressing and resolving various social issues faced by the society lies in the determination of the social reformers and their relentless pursuit to create a more humane society by engaging in policy advocacy (Jansson, 2010). HIV AIDS is one such critical problem faced by the United States. With a total of 1.2 million Americans living with HIV (CDC, 2012), and one in five people are unaware of their infection (Aids.gov, 2012) it is identified as a serious public health concern thus indicating an urgent need to eradicate it through effective policy changes. This section discusses the Cure for AIDS Act 2012, introduced by Representative James Himes in the House, and is aimed at finding an effective cure for the epidemic and makes it accessible in the United States as well as globally. It proposes to establish a research program under the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense to accomplish i ts goal (Govtrack.us). The program is proposed to be headed by the Secretary of Defense in collaboration with the Director of National Institutes of Health; the Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; and any head of a Federal agency as deemed appropriate by the Secretary. The program aims to develop a cure for HIV/AIDS through extensive research programs, aimed at addressing the fundamental issues such as the key causes behind the persistence of the disease despite the use of various therapies; and developing and identifying various testing interventions to control the spread of any further spread of the disease, among others. The program also seeks to gain assistance from Non-profit entities in terms of co-ordination and sharing of responsibilities through partnership and provision of peer-reviewed funded research. The key objective of this bill is to ensure an effective cure for HIV/AIDS by supporting and encouraging innovative research. The conviction to find a cure has been strengthened further after the recent case of Timothy Brown, the first person ever to be cured of the 'incurable' disease (CBS News, 2012), thus providing a renewed hope to the medical practitioners, researchers and policy makers to revive and accelerate their efforts towards working and campaigning for the just cause. Significance and scope of the issue: HIV/ AIDS is a global epidemic affecting 34 million people worldwide, and claiming 1.8 million lives as of 2010 (WHO, 2012). According to available statistics the situation is equally grave for high-income developed countries as well including the United States. Over 1.2 million people in the United S