Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Money
  • Election 2020
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Money
    Election 2020
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

Trump budget offers $291M to fight HIV

Administration also proposed actions that could undermine efforts to control the virus’s spread

  • Health
  • by Carmen Heredia Rodriguez | Kaiser Health News
  • March 17, 2019
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

Cover photo from the PEPFAR program strategy report for AIDS epidemic control.

The Trump administration took another step toward fulfilling its goal of ending the HIV epidemic in the United States Monday by requesting $291 million for its initiative in the White House’s annual budget.

But within the budget, the administration also proposed actions that could undermine efforts to control the virus’s spread, HIV experts and advocates said, including carving out funds from programs that aim to eradicate HIV in other parts of the world. Among those moves was a $1.35 billion cut in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. (Kaiser Health News is an editorially independent program of the foundation.)

That widely touted program, begun by President George W. Bush, provides antiretroviral medication and other services to patients in more than 50 countries. Last year, 14 million people around the world relied on the program for HIV medication.

Greg Millett, vice president and director of public policy at the HIV research foundation amfAR, described the administration’s budget as “schizophrenic.”

“There’s just so many opposites within this budget of things that are truly helpful and useful,” he said. “And then, they are counterbalanced by things that just erase that goodwill.”

The budget proposal is for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. Congress is not obligated to fulfill any of the requests in the budget proposal. The administration has asked for similar cuts to global HIV initiatives in the past without success.

The  allocation to combat HIV in the U.S. would be split between multiple programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive $140 million to work with state and local health departments to reduce new infections. Another share — approximately $120 million — would be directed to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which provides HIV-related medical care, support services and medications to patients.

President Donald Trump pledged in his State of the Union speech last month to eradicate the transmission of HIV in the United States in the next decade.

Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said these funds “are actual real increases to those programs if they should go through.”

However, the budget also seeks to change funding for Medicaid — the federal-state partnership that provides health insurance for the poor and indigent — from unlimited federal matching to a block grant. It would also give states more flexibility to change Medicaid eligibility rules and shift certain costs toward beneficiaries. Advocates say those changes could directly impact access to services for HIV patients because Medicaid is the largest source of coverage for them.

In addition, the budget proposes cuts to the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS program, which provides housing for those with HIV/AIDS.

HIV advocates also highlighted their concerns about the cut to global programs. Nearly 37 million people around the world lived with HIV or AIDS in 2017, according to UNAIDS. Roughly one-quarter of them did not know they were infected with the virus.

Countries receiving aid from these programs are unlikely to be able to continue these programs on their own, experts said.

The move to divest from overseas efforts and focus on domestic issues aligns with the Trump administration’s “America First” doctrine, said William McColl, vice president for policy and advocacy at AIDS United, an HIV advocacy organization.

But ending U.S. efforts undercuts the United States’ place as a global leader in combating the virus, he said.

The change also overlooks the fact that the virus will continue to circulate without regard to national borders.

“I hesitate to give anybody ideas, but unless you put a bubble over the United States, this is not going to really solve this issue,” McColl said.

This story first appeared March 12, 2019, in Kaiser Health News.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carmen Heredia Rodriguez | Kaiser Health News

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Lamont sets the stage for a debate on marijuana taxation by mid-2022
by Keith M. Phaneuf

The governor's draft bill proposes taxing marijuana and erasing convictions for possession that occurred prior to Oct. 1, 2015.

Nursing home residents are receiving the COVID vaccination at a higher rate than their caretakers
by Dave Altimari and Jenna Carlesso

Providers attributed workers' reluctance to a variety of issues, from concerns about fertility to uncertainty about the side effects.

Legislative leaders support extension of Lamont’s emergency powers during COVID
by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

The governor's emergency powers expire Feb. 9 unless he asks lawmakers for an extension within 72 hours of that date.

For some transgender people, pandemic paves path to transition
by Carol Leonetti Dannhauser | C-HIT.ORG

The COVID-19 pandemic has given many transgender individuals the incentive to begin gender-affirming hormone therapy.

COVID deaths and infections in CT nursing homes decline as more residents are vaccinated
by Dave Altimari

There were 85 deaths in nursing homes and 312 residents infected during the week ending Jan. 12.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion In the grip of a pandemic: What would Dr. King say?
by Suzanne Lagarde MD

No one can dispute that we are in the midst of a history making week —the inauguration of a new President and the departure of a President under the cloud of accusations that he incited an insurrection against American democracy. However, the coming week will prove to be a week like no other in American history for more reasons than what is happening in our country’s capital.

Opinion Connecticut’s broad access to internet making at-home work more doable
by Timothy Wilkerson

When it comes to ranking public access to broadband networks, Connecticut has been consistently among the top five U.S. states for over a decade. In 2020, Connecticut topped two lists including best broadband access by BroadbandNow and WalletHub recognized the state as No. 1 in internet access to households as part of their Best States for Working from Home report.

Opinion The elephant in the Metro-North station
by David Moyer

All over the world, businesses are discussing their revised needs for space as a result of the pandemic. White-collar professionals who have successfully adapted to working from home will have, when they do go to their companies’ offices, fewer of them, with less square footage. Exactly how much is still a matter of debate since the post-pandemic habits of and requirements for in-person face time are still in flux. One thing’s for certain. It isn’t going to increase.

Opinion Separating myth and reality in aid in dying
by Lisa Blumberg

The virus is surging and the death rate is increasing as the already overburdened health system is in crisis. Yet, there is talk of the legislature again considering a bill to permit doctors to provide lethal prescriptions to terminally ill adults requesting them. This is despite the fact that such bills have stalled in committee five times in the past and due to the pandemic, the legislature may meet virtually for much of the upcoming session. Proponents will be talking about choice and compassion. Let’s separate rhetoric from reality.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO