According to a June 16 press release, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), awarded approximately $115 million to 60 recipients to assist with implementing the “Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE)” initiative. The initiative aims to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the U.S. by, at minimum, 90 percent by 2030. The awards are meant to support innovative strategies that help individuals with HIV access care, support, and treatment.
The release states that “Awards fund 60 recipients linking people with HIV to essential care, support, and treatment, and providing workforce training and technical assistance. They include:
- Nearly $103 million to 39 metropolitan areas and eight states (Mississippi, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Ohio) to implement strategies and interventions to provide core medical and support services to reduce new HIV infections in the U.S.;
- $4 million to provide workforce capacity development and technical assistance to 11 Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program AIDS Education and Training Centers Programs across the country; and
- $8 million to two non-profit organizations to support grantees with technical assistance and health care and social systems coordination.”
Further, “For more than thirty years, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) has played a critical role in the U.S. public health response to HIV. The program helps low-income people with HIV receive medical care, medications, and essential support services to help them stay in care. More than 50 percent of people with diagnosed HIV—more than a half million people—receive services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program each year. ”
The release adds that more than 700,000 deaths in the U.S. are attributed to HIV since 1981 and more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are currently living with HIV. Also, more than 160,000 people in the country are unaware they are living with HIV.
HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson was quoted in the release saying that “With advancements in HIV treatment and innovative strategies to drive health equity, we have the tools to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S. We are leading this fight by focusing our HIV investments in the places that need it most and partnering with communities to address critical needs like housing and mental health. Ending the epidemic is within reach if we continue to center our work on the needs of individuals with HIV and supporting proven strategies to reduce new infections.”
