In the summer of 2023, PrEP4All, AVAC, and HIVMA launched the #SaveHIVFunding campaign in response to an unprecedented proposal in the US House of Representatives to cut $767M in federal HIV funding. Securing emergency funds from the Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF), Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (BCEFA), and several national HIV partner organizations, the campaign generated millions of social media impressions through a press conference at the US Capitol, as well as online community mobilization and ad buys. Thousands of letters were sent to Congressional representatives asking that they do whatever they can to save HIV funding.
Ultimately, the defense of these critical programs was successful, and all $767M in proposed cuts were removed from the final FY24 spending bill. For FY25, new cuts were proposed in the House, and PrEP4All, AVAC, and HIVMA relaunched the #SaveHIVFunding campaign. Although we have yet to see the final outcome of our efforts as Congress is still debating funding issues, we have once again partnered with 120 organizations and generated thousands of petition signatures representing all fifty states. Far more of this sort of advocacy–with the capacity to rapidly plan, fund, and deploy responses to urgent threats–will be required in a new political environment that is rapidly changing and hard to predict.
Join Funders Concerned about AIDS for a discussion on the major threats being faced by the HIV field at the federal level, plans to expand the #SaveHIVFunding campaign, and how you can support this work to defend federal funding to end the HIV epidemic.
Facilitator:
Mitchell Warren, Executive Director, AVAC
Panel:
Jenny Collier, Collier Collective
Michael Chancley, Communications and Mobilization Manager, PrEP4All
Noelle Esquire, US Portfolio Lead, Elton John AIDS Foundation