The Trump administration has geling freezing on federal funds for HIV prevention and monitoring programs, officials said, following an uproar by HIV prevention organizations, health experts and Democrats in the Congress.
On Thursday, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health received a notice from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that it had received nearly $ 20 million for HIV prevention for the period of 12 months which started on June 1 – an increase of $ 338,019 compared to the previous year.
“Let’s be clear – the Trump administration’s decision to freeze HIV prevention funding was reckless, illegal and endangers lives,” said representative Laura Friedman (D -Glendale) in a statement. “I am relieved that the CDC finally did the right thing – but it should never have happened.”
The CDC did not immediately respond to a request for comments.
Friedman and other defenders of financing HIV prevention sent a letter to the Secretary of Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., last month, warning that the reductions proposed to these programs would reverse years of progress which fight against the disease and would cause peaks in new cases – in particular in California and among the LGBTQ +community.
The letter quoted the estimates of the Foundation for Aida Research, known as AMFAR, suggesting that the cuts could lead to 143,000 additional HIV infections at the national level and 127,000 additional deaths caused by the causes linked to AIDS within five years.
The County of Los Angeles, which was to lose nearly $ 20 million in federal annual HIV prevention funding, planned to end contracts with 39 suppliers. Experts said that the dissolution of this network could cause new cases per year to 650 cases – pushing the total number of new infections per year in the county at around 2,000.
“Public health is grateful for the support and advocacy of the supervisor council, the delegation of the County Congress of Los Angeles and all our community suppliers by pushing the CDC to restore this funding approved by the Congress,” said a spokesperson for the county health service.
“Before impatiently, it is important to note that the budget of the President of the Fisc ancient 26 proposes to completely eliminate this funding, and we urge our federal partners to support this critical rescue funding,” she said.
