The Biden administration is proposing a $377 million increase in federal funding towards the effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic and mapping out a decade-long PrEP plan to boost HIV prevention, drawing praise from advocates who say the additional resources should help address inequities.
HIV advocates have much to praise in the Biden-Harris administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2023. The budget seeks a $377 million increase in funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States initiative, devoting a total of $850 million to the programs. What’s more, the budget seeks to invest $9.8 billion over 10 years in expanding access to PrEP, or pre-exposure prophylaxis, which refers to pills and injections that prevent HIV. “In many ways, this is a very bold budget,” said Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, in a press statement about Biden’s requested budget. “The increases are especially needed after COVID-19 stalled progress and Congress fell short in providing the requested increases for this year. Hopefully, Congress will support these proposals so our efforts to end HIV can get back on track.”
President Joe Biden’s 2023 budget proposal for HHS includes a funding increase of $377 million for an initiative to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, bringing total funding for the initiative to $850 million. The budget also calls for a $9.8 billion 10-year PrEP delivery program to make pre-exposure prophylaxis available to more people.
Congress’s spending bill allocated drastically less funding for HIV testing, prevention, and treatment than previously promised. Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, explains why it is so vital to continue the fight against HIV.
Many have expressed major disappointment after a bill went through last week that allocates funding for HIV testing, prevention, treatment, and research programs for areas in the U.S. most impacted by the virus. Instead of supporting the $245 million increase proposed in President Biden’s original budget, the final bill only increased the funding by $70 million, according to press release from the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute.