A statement from the Trump administration said officials are considering cutting major programs for the prevention of HIV and AIDS has sparked outrage between two of the largest LGBTQ+ service organizations in Southern California.
Leaders of LGBT centers in Los Angeles and DAP Health in Coachella Valley said rapid cuts at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV Prevention could put many lives at risk and raise long-term costs for taxpayers if they cause the incidence of the virus that causes an increase in AIDS.
When the Wall Street Journal first violated news that it may have been cut in mid-March, the spokesman said there was no “final decision” made “on the rationalization of the CDC’s HIV prevention division.”
This week, CDC spokesman Nicholas Spinelli introduced the questions to the agency’s parent organization, the Department of Health and Human Services. The White House also declined to respond to a request for comment Friday.
Health agencies across the country have helped to reduce the incidence of HIV, primarily through testing, counseling, and distribution of medications to prevent spread of disease. Much of the funding for that job came from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Between 2018 and 2022, the decline was 12% nationwide, with another 21% sharper in 50 regions where the CDC focused on prevention efforts.
The LGBT center in Los Angeles offers outreach, testing and HIV preventative medications and said it remains at Limbo about what the $450,000 CDC grant will be to support the job.
“We’re looking forward to seeing you in the future,” said Joe Hollendner, CEO of LGBT Center. “We were even talking about how we could end the HIV epidemic and zero new cases in our lives.”
“But it’s not an exaggeration to say that if we’re terminating our HIV prevention contract in the way we expect… it’s going to cost human lives.”
This concern reiterates the concerns raised by DAP Health, which operates 25 clinics in Riverside and San Diego counties.
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Brinkman pointed to a study that shows the average cost of lifetime treatment for patients who contract HIV to approximately $500,000 per year. If more than 3,600 new cases of Americans, and if federal disease agencies eliminate the HIV program, the estimated potential “savings” of $1.8 billion is $1.8 billion, according to Brinkman.
An outspoken voice over the possibility of reducing or eliminating anti-HIV programs is Rep. Raul Lewis (D Palm Desert), a former emergency room doctor representing Coachella Valley.
“The CDC’s HIV preventive divisions play an important role in reducing new infections, saving preventable medical costs, and ensuring that individuals have access to life-saving medications,” Lewis said in a statement.
Lewis noted that the CDC program also plays a central role in dealing with viral hepatitis and tuberculosis. The House of Representatives joined 100 other Democrats in the House and Senate, sending a letter to President Trump, urging them to reconsider plans to cut or eliminate disease prevention programs.
Lawmakers reminded Trump that during his first term in 2019 he declared his goal of ending the HIV outbreak. “As shown on the CDC website, one of the pillars of your initiative is prevention,” the letter said. “It’s essential to support this commitment.”
CJ Tobe, chief change officer at DAP Health, said that the potential changes in the Trump administration, of course, look inexplicable.
“It’s an 180-degree turn to threaten to take this,” Tobe said. “That’s a personal feeling, it’s not zero.”
The confusion and confusion also enveloped US government-sponsored research on HIV.
CNN reported this week that the National Institutes of Health had eliminated funding for dozens of HIV-related research grants. The news outlet cited the Department of Health and Human Services database, citing scientists who said the cut would be a crippling blow to the goal of ending HIV.
Some people in the Chopping Block have grants related to PREP and drug regimens that can stop HIV infection, scientists told the New York Times.
Funding for interventions for foreign diseases also appeared to be at risk when the Trump administration freezes foreign aid and then eliminates the US International Development Agency, the leading US institution to provide assistance to other countries.
A study published in the Lancet found that by 2030, cuts in support from the US and other major financial countries had led to 4.4 million to 10.7 million new HIV infections worldwide, killing between 770,000 and nearly 3 million people.
“Funding cuts could significantly reverse the progress of the HIV reaction by 2030, disproportionatingly affecting sub-Saharan African countries and major and vulnerable populations,” the study states.
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