February 23, 2024
Last October when an unprecedented proposal to cut $767 million in federal funding for domestic US HIV programs was put forward in the Congress, AVAC joined PrEP4All, HIVMA, PrEP In Black America, NASTAD, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, The AIDS Institute, AIDS United, NMAC, and several members of the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership to launch the #SaveHIVFunding campaign. Since then, thousands of advocates and community members, along with over 100 organizations, joined the fight to demand Congress continue the bipartisan commitment to fund Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) efforts.
With key deadlines in the FY24 budget process quickly approaching, it is more important now than ever that you join us in telling Congress to reject cuts and #SaveHIVFunding by sending letters to your Congressional representatives.
The House bill also proposes to cut 53 percent of spending for the Minority HIV/AIDS Initiative, which seeks to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities in HIV. The bill would also completely eliminate funding for the Minority AIDS Initiative within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration.
Together, these funding cuts would eliminate all activities of the EHE, reverse recent progress in bringing down annual HIV rates, and leave state and local health departments and community-based organizations without critical funding to provide services to their communities. With 70 percent of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV projected to be age 50 and older by 2030, the impact on the aging HIV community would be severe.
In contrast, the Senate bipartisan spending bill proposes to maintain HIV funding for Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) and includes a proposed increase of $3 million dollars to continue the fight to end the epidemic and begin work toward a National PrEP Program.
Please help us push Congress to pass a final FY24 spending bill that rejects cuts to HIV programs and instead would #SaveHIVFunding by sending letters to your Senators and Representative now! Please also review the #SaveHIVFunding social media toolkit that you and your organization can use to urge our leaders in Congress to #SaveHIVFunding.