President Trump Must Restore “Ending the HIV Epidemic” funding & other domestic HIV programs

Draft Budget Eliminates First Term Signature Accomplishment

Washington DC… In response to the release of a draft HHS budget for fiscal year 2026 that would cut over $1.5 billion of federal funding from our nation’s domestic HIV response by totally eliminating President Trump’s Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative and all CDC HIV prevention and surveillance activities, along with parts of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and minority AIDS programs, Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, issued the following statement:

“We hope this is one of those instances of ‘mistakes will be made’ and urge President Trump to include funding in his budget to maintain our nation’s HIV response to keep Americans healthy. During his first term, President Trump realized that although we have the tools to end HIV through innovative treatment and prevention medications, the results remained relatively stagnant and by efficiently investing resources in the communities with the highest number of infections, over time we can end HIV. The initiative, which builds upon the existing CDC prevention and Ryan White HIV/AIDS treatment programs, has demonstrated success with a 21-percent reduction in HIV incidence in those jurisdictions that received enhanced funding compared to a 6-percent drop in those that did not. This resulted in 9,500 fewer infections, which saved $5.1 billion in lifetime medical costs.

“HIV is a serious infectious disease that left untreated leads to serious illness and death.  Fortunately, we have medications today that keep people alive and healthy, which makes the disease untransmittable, as well as PrEP, which are highly effective medications to prevent HIV. However, as with other infectious diseases, we need testing, surveillance, and outreach efforts as well as prevention, treatment, and care for those who lack insurance or are underinsured. Now is not the time to pull the rug out on the longstanding bipartisan effort to end HIV.  It will just lead to increased infections in the general public and future medical costs.   

“As former Trump Assistant Secretary of Health Brett Giroir recently wrote, ‘The impact of these cuts would be devastating and illogical—reversing all the gains we have made and destroying what is a legacy of courage and expert implementation by Trump ’45.  Trump ’47 should not allow Trump ’45’s massive public health achievement to be cancelled—especially when that legacy will be remembered in history books as the beginning of the end of HIV/AIDS in America.’

“The funding cuts included in the draft budget are on top of already announced HHS staff cuts, program eliminations, grant cancellations, and NIH research grant cuts. The draft budget document also proposes an HHS reorganization that creates a new Administration for a Healthy America that may absorb some domestic HIV prevention programming from CDC, and proposes to combine hepatitis, STD, and TB prevention work into a block grant to the states. Before any of these changes are implemented, we urge the Trump administration to seek community input and Congressional approval. Congress, at a minimum, should conduct oversight hearings to determine the implications and consequences of the proposals.”

[Note: There are an estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, of which approximately 400,000 are not currently engaged in care. There are an estimated 32,000 new infections annually and a new revolutionary long-acting PrEP medication is expected to be approved by the FDA early this summer. There are approximately 3.3 million Americans estimated to be living with chronic viral hepatitis, about half of whom are unaware of their infection, and there are treatments for hepatitis B and cures for hepatitis C.]

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The HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute is a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to promote quality and affordable healthcare for people living with or at risk of HIV, hepatitis, and other serious and chronic health conditions.