“MISTR’s results show what happens when we remove barriers and bring prevention to where people actually are,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “This is the kind of innovation we need: community-driven, tech-enabled and stigma-free. We applaud MISTR’s leadership and look forward to continuing the work ahead to ensure everyone at risk can access tools that keep them healthy.”
If we lose funding, it’s the outreach work, the education work, going to the Pride events, having a place to get tested. That will all be gone. We do have Medicaid and Medicare and private insurance. But we are seeing cutbacks there. New Jersey does have a reliable safety net system, but they rely on federal funding. Even if you have private insurance, you still need that provider education. You still need that community outreach. You need to educate providers. Plus, the difference in awareness of things like PREP between New York and Newark is stark. Awareness of PREP was so high in New York and so low in Newark, just a couple [of] miles away. Coverage alone doesn’t provide awareness. That’s the benefit of the CDC. That’s the benefit of those grants and your community-based organizations to do the education.
Along with getting rid of entire branches crucial to the HIV response, Carl Schmid noted hundreds of research grants have been halted. Many of these grants were likely stopped due to the administration’s edict to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) within the federal agencies. Some of the cut funding went towards HIV research focusing on trans, Black and Latino individuals, groups who are disproportionately impacted by the epidemic. “I don’t understand what ‘No DEI’ means. Because everything that we do is based on disparities — you know, whether you’re Black, you’re gay, you’re trans — and also it could be geographic in certain areas. I mean, that’s how you address an infectious disease. You go where the epidemic is,” said Schmid. “If you ignore them, it’s just going to get worse.”
Carl Schmid, who heads the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, said that it’s important for advocates to get local media to cover such visits, and report on the personal stories behind them. “People need to know that it’s their state and local governments that are going to lose HIV funding if these cuts go through,” he said.
“[On March 28], the Trump administration continued its decimation of our nation’s response not only to HIV but to hepatitis and [sexually transmitted infections],” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, in a news release. “While we wait to learn specifics on how many staff who support CDC’s HIV and hepatitis prevention programs will be eliminated, all staff at the government’s central coordinating office, which develops strategic plans, coordinates agency actions, collects and communicates vital data, administers the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative and oversees the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, have been fired.”