The Aging and HIV Institute (A&H) was created to address a persistent gap in how aging systems understand and respond to HIV. As people with HIV live longer, they increasingly rely on aging, disability, housing, and behavioral health systems that were not designed with their experiences in mind. While many of these systems express commitments to equity, HIV is often inconsistently named or entirely absent from the frameworks that guide planning, implementation, and accountability.

A&H works at the point where those frameworks are shaped.

Why A&H Exists

In aging policy, who is named matters. Planning documents, statutory definitions, and statewide frameworks determine which populations are assessed, prioritized, and reported on. When people aging with HIV are not explicitly included, systems can overlook their needs without violating their own equity standards.

A&H exists to make those blind spots visible and to help translate inclusion into operational responsibility. Our work focuses on how policy language, governance structures, and planning processes function in practice, not just how they are described.

How We Work

A&H operates as a policy and systems-focused organization. We do not provide direct services, and we do not seek to create parallel programs. Instead, we work to strengthen the alignment and durability of existing aging and health frameworks.

Our approach includes:

• Analyzing how aging, disability, and behavioral health policies define populations and priorities
• Identifying where HIV is inconsistently recognized across systems and funding streams
• Advancing language and policy strategies that support equitable planning and accountability
• Supporting advocates, policymakers, and systems leaders with analysis and framing that connects lived experience to policy design

This work is grounded in the belief that lasting equity depends on how systems are structured, not solely on individual goodwill or discretionary inclusion.

From Visibility to Responsibility

A&H’s policy lens is shaped by a simple observation. Inclusion that depends on discretion is fragile. When equity commitments are not codified or consistently applied, they can vary by agency, administration, or program.

Our work focuses on strengthening durability and alignment across aging systems so that recognition of people aging with HIV does not depend on who happens to be in the room. By supporting policy approaches that clarify responsibility across agencies and planning processes, A&H helps ensure that inclusion is not symbolic, but actionable.

Our Role in the Field

A&H works alongside advocates, aging organizations, HIV leaders, and policymakers who share a commitment to equity in aging. We contribute policy analysis, framing, and systems insight that support collective efforts without duplicating the work of service providers or community organizations.

Our role is to help make aging systems more legible, more aligned, and more accountable to the communities they are meant to serve.