For Some HIV Advocates The Trump Administration’s Past ‘Actions Speak Louder Than It’s Words’
Although many remain cautiously optimistic that President Donald Trump's pledge to end new HIV transmissions by 2030 will move the cause forward, others say the administration’s repeated efforts to cut AIDS funding and roll back protections for patients with HIV and other preexisting conditions show otherwise.
Politico:
Trump’s HIV Strategy Faces Potential Minefield
President Donald Trump has vowed to end the nation’s HIV epidemic in a decade — but to do so, he’ll need to win over skeptics in the health community and on Capitol Hill, tamp down concerns from faith leaders and navigate hurdles inside his administration. The ambitious State of the Union pronouncement has been undermined by Trump’s own actions: He’s tried to cut nearly $1 billion in global HIV/AIDS funding, roll back protections for patients living with the disease and strike down health benefits for LGBTQ Americans. “There’s a lot of distrust between the community and the administration, understandably,” said Carl Schmid, deputy executive director of the AIDS Institute, who was recently tapped to help lead Trump's advisory council on HIV/AIDS. “This could be a good opportunity to show they’re committed to this.” (Diamond, Cancryn and Ehley, 2/9)
NPR:
How '80s AIDS Activist Group ACT UP Changed The Face Of Medicine
In the summer of 1985, Mike Petrelis was savoring life as young, openly gay man in New York City. He'd landed a cool job working for a film publicist who mostly handled foreign art films. He'd found an affordable apartment — not far from the gay mecca of Greenwich Village. Then one day, Petrelis noticed a sort of blotch on his arm. He went to a doctor, who ran a new kind of test, and gave Petrelis the verdict: "You have AIDS." (Aizenman, 2/9)
