April 2, 2025
AVAC condemns the US administration’s ongoing reduction in force (RIF) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which oversees 13 agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In a strategically blind and callous move, the administration has begun to dismiss 20,000 public servants and leaders across every domain of global health research, policies and programs—without any clear plan to sustain life-saving work across these agencies.
Among the thousands of colleagues removed from their positions are two stalwart leaders in HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STI) and sexual and reproductive health: the CDC’s Jonathan Mermin and NIAID’s Jeanne Marrazzo. These two professionals epitomize the best in scientific leadership—unyielding commitment to evidence, rights, community engagement, and to translating science into policy, programs and practice.
“What we’re witnessing is a true ‘brain drain’ at the highest levels of government. Losing Drs. Marrazzo and Mermin is a loss for everyone dedicated to advancing human health in the US and around the world,” said Mitchell Warren, Executive Director at AVAC. “By removing these leaders and defunding the work that has led to breakthroughs in HIV prevention and treatment, this administration is setting the US back decades. These personnel changes aren’t just numbers on an organizational chart, but the removal of dedicated public health leaders who have helped build what so many of us rely on. These illegal actions will make America and the world poorer and sicker.”
As the world’s largest funder of biomedical research, decades of NIH investments have driven the discovery and development of therapies and preventive interventions for HIV, tuberculosis, STIs, viral Hepatitis and other infectious diseases. The Adolescent Trials Network (ATN)—created in 2001—revolutionized research by generating data to develop and deliver life-saving HIV and STI interventions for adolescents, an often-excluded group in research. However, recent cuts have gutted the ATN, undermining decades of investment by NIH and American taxpayers to advance healthcare for adolescents. Just as important, the role of the CDC is absolutely essential, by preventing, detecting and responding to emerging health threats. Together, NIH and CDC drive research, policy and programs that lead to groundbreaking discoveries and safeguard human health. These ill-informed decisions risk not only the economic stability of our scientific workforce but also a resurgence of diseases like HIV and TB, reversing years of scientific advancement.
“The advancements of science have given the world lifesaving options in HIV and many other diseases,” said Stacey Hannah, Director of Research Engagement at AVAC. “The wholesale dismantling of research infrastructure is a reckoning for the field. We cannot—and will not—stand by as science, which has delivered products, programs, and services that combat diseases and empower communities, is systematically dismantled. Once, bipartisan support fueled excellence in public service and research; science has only grown stronger since then, and now we need leadership that matches its promise.”
“It’s devastating that this is happening now—when in four decades of battling the HIV epidemic we’ve never had the opportunity that we have now with long-acting injectable PrEP to put the world on track to end the AIDS epidemic,” Warren added. “Years of investment, collaboration, and community engagement, with leadership from CDC and NIH, had begun to break down longstanding barriers. Now, this momentum has been abruptly halted. Without urgent, coordinated action, the hard-won gains in HIV prevention will be reversed, leaving communities more vulnerable and deepening inequities.”
AVAC urges Congress to take action in stopping the wanton destruction and assault on science being waged by the administration. Without federally funded public health research, the US risks losing its place as a global leader in biomedical research and becoming more vulnerable to the next infectious disease threats.