CDC data released today shows that overall, the nation is on the right trajectory in decreasing the number of new HIV diagnoses with a marked decrease in new cases among young people. At the same time, while usage of PrEP, which are drugs that prevent HIV, significantly increased, it mostly benefited Whites, while the wide disparities in uptake for Blacks, Latinos, and women persisted.
“President Biden’s budget is yet another demonstration of his leadership in ending HIV. He recognizes the historic role the federal government must play, and the investments needed to end infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis C,” commented Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute. “Now, it is essential that Congress works together to ensure it maintains the federal government’s commitment to ending HIV and at the same time, invests the necessary resources to end hepatitis. We also must guard against any erosion in funding of these programs, as some have proposed,” continued Schmid.
Congressional appropriators have released the final FY2023 appropriations bill and have increased funding for the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative by $100 million for a total of $613 million, according to the Appropriations Committee. While far short of the $330 million increase proposed in President Biden’s budget, it does provide increases to ramp up domestic HIV testing, prevention, and treatment programs in order to end HIV.
In advance of World AIDS Day on December 1st, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute has released a report modeling the resources needed to fund a national Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) program.
The U.S. House of Representatives Labor, HHS Appropriations Subcommittee is proposing to increase funding to continue to ramp up efforts to end HIV in the United States. However, it fails to include a national program to increase access to PrEP, which are medications that prevent HIV. In addition to an increase of $225 million for domestic HIV testing, prevention, and treatment programs as part of the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, the FY23 Labor, HHS appropriations bill is proposing a $75 million increase to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and $200 million more for NIH AIDS Research.