Abt Associates to Conduct Demonstration Initiative for Federal Office of HIV/AIDS Policy Aimed At HIV Prevention Among Minority Youth

Abt Associates to Conduct Demonstration Initiative for Federal Office of
HIV/AIDS Policy Aimed At HIV Prevention Among Minority Youth
$3.2 Million Demonstration Initiative Will Assist Minority Serving
Institutions in Promotion of HIV Awareness, Testing and Prevention, and
Responsible Sexual Health

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Abt Associates was awarded
a $3.2 million contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Office of HIV/AIDS Policy to enhance HIV prevention activities in minority
serving institutions, engage and train new community partners in HIV
prevention activities, and organize an educational and professional
development institute for federal staff.

Abt Associates and its partner, the National Minority AIDS Council (NMAC),
will provide technical assistance to historically black colleges and
universities, Hispanic serving institutions, tribal colleges, and Asian and
Pacific Islander Serving Institutions to promote HIV awareness, testing and
prevention, sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening and prevention, and
responsible sexual health and harm reduction. The initiative is focused on
enhancing HIV prevention activities within these institutions through social
marketing, and educational and awareness activities. The demonstration will be
designed to assess and support the needs of the minority serving institutions
and to identify best practices and lessons learned from an evaluation.

"HIV/AIDS continues to have a devastating impact on minority communities in
the U.S.," said Dr. Liza Solomon, Principal Associate in Abt Associates'
Domestic Health Division. "This demonstration will promote innovative methods
of providing HIV prevention information and help identify model programs that
may be more broadly adopted."

As part of the project Abt Associates will also provide technical assistance
to the faith and secular communities to expand and improve their ability to
provide HIV prevention messages to at risk communities. A final aspect of the
initiative is to organize an in-service training institute for federal staff
which will include 5 trainings per year on major issues in clinical care,
epidemiologic trends, and other critical issues in HIV prevention.

Dr. Scott Royal, Division Vice President of Abt Associates' Domestic Health
Division noted, "This project is part of Abt Associates' larger portfolio of
work developing, implementing, and evaluating programs designed to address the
serious problem of HIV/AIDS in minority populations across the U.S. We are
honored to be selected along with our partner, NMAC, to carry out this
important work."

Abt Associates, an employee-owned company, applies scientific research,
technical assistance, survey, and consulting expertise to a wide range of
social, economic and health policy issues; international development; clinical
trials and registries; and complex business problems. Founded in 1965, the
company provides services to U.S. federal, state and local governments;
universities and foundations; media; and major corporations. In fiscal year
2009, the company had revenue of $264 million. Its staff of over 1,300 is
located in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Atlanta, Georgia; Bethesda, Maryland;
Durham, North Carolina; Lexington, Massachusetts (Abt Bio-Pharma Solutions,
Inc.); New York, New York (Abt SRBI); and in Africa, Asia, Central Asia,
Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

SOURCE Abt Associates

Peter Broderick, Vice President, Corporate Communications, Abt Associates,
+1-617-349-2882, peter_broderick@abtassociates.com