Statement on elimination of HHS Office of Infectious Diseases & HIV Policy & Other HHS staff cuts

Washington DC… In reaction to reports today that the Trump administration dismissed the entire staff of the HHS Office of Infectious Diseases & HIV Policy, and other offices including the HHS Office of Minority Health, the Policy and Data Division supporting the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, and hundreds of employees at HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care, including those who support the Ending the HIV Epidemic PrEP program, Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute issued the following statement:

“Today the Trump administration continued its decimation of our nation’s response not only to HIV, but to hepatitis and STIs. 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.

I guess we should have taken Secretary Kennedy at his word when he said we need to take a break from infectious diseases. But our nation cannot afford to take a break from infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. It will lead to increased infections and medical costs down the road.  This was not done to increase government efficiency but was a blatant attack on specific communities and populations. With all of these cuts, how are we going to, as Secretary Kennedy repeatedly says, ‘Make America Healthy Again’?

President Trump still has the opportunity to reverse these decisions. During his first term he started the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which has been successful in reducing HIV nationwide. We hope that during his second term he will not want to go down in history as the President who was responsible for the resurgence of HIV in the United States.”

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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.