President Obama last week urged Congress to reexamine the budget for the next fiscal year and expand funding for HIV/AIDS programs.
Obama issued a letter to Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Aug. 20, asking that Congress consider a set of proposed budget amendments that include a $65-million increase for HIV prevention and treatment.
The increase would consist of a $35-million boost for HIV-prevention activities set forth in the recently released National HIV/AIDS strategy and $30 million more to support state AIDS Drug Assistance Programs (ADAP).
The majority — $11.6 million — of the requested prevention funds would support “comprehensive HIV prevention,” which would be available for interventions that have both a behavioral and biomedical component and are offered in locales with a high incidence of HIV. Other proposed outlets for the funding include increasing testing and care services for hard-hit communities, like men who have sex with men (MSM) and African Americans, and the implementation of an annual online survey for MSM.
The $30-million increase to ADAP, which provides HIV/AIDS medications to low-income people, would raise the Fiscal Year 2011 ADAP appropriations to $885 million.
The current fiscal-year budget originally contained $835 million for ADAP, but Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius earlier this summer appropriated an emergency $25 million for the programs because of widespread cutbacks in state support for ADAP.
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation estimates that about 3,000 Americans are currently on ADAP waiting lists.
Michael Weinstein, AHF president, said the $30-million boost announced only amounts to a $5-milllion increase over Sebelius’ emergency addition in July, which he said is not enough.
“Though additional funds are appreciated, there is no possible way that an additional $5 million will result in getting those 3,000 people off the waiting lists and on to lifesaving AIDS treatments,” Weinstein said.
In a statement released last week, Jeffrey Crowley, director of the Office of National AIDS Policy, said the increase is not meant to be a unilateral solution to the funding problems experienced by ADAPs.
“This action alone will not resolve the challenges faced by ADAPs. We need states to continue to prioritize their funding for ADAPs even in these difficult times, and we need our pharmaceutical company partners, businesses, foundations and community-based organizations to do their part as well,” he said. “We recognize that times are tough and there are significant challenges faced by people living with HIV/AIDS and other Americans that must be addressed. The federal government cannot tackle these problems alone, but we can do our part.”
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].