CDC Director applauds Montgomery HIV/AIDS clinic

The director of the Centers for Disease Control says he's impressed by a Montgomery-based HIV/AIDS clinic and its commitment to providing health services to rural communities.

Director Robert Redfield toured the Medical Advocacy & Outreach clinic Friday as part of a visit to Alabama to discuss strategies to end the HIV epidemic in the state.

The federal government is targeting Alabama and six other states as part of an initiative to reduce new HIV infections by 75 percent in five years and at least 90 percent in 10 years.

President Donald Trump first announced the initiative in his State of the Union speech in February.

Southern states accounted for more than half of the nearly 40,000 new HIV diagnoses in 2017.