Trump's Budget Contains $291 Million Funding Boost For Domestic HIV Goals, But Also Cuts Global Aid To Fight Epidemic

While experts called the increased domestic spending for HIV "quite significant," they said any progress will be undermined by the deep cuts that were proposed to the health law and Medicaid in other parts of the budget. Meanwhile, critics used the dichotomy between slashing global aid while increasing funding domestically as an example of the administration's contradicting messages when it comes to fighting the epidemic.

The Washington Post: Trump Budget Calls For $291 Million To Fund HIV Initiative

The Trump administration is calling for $291 million for its domestic campaign to stop the transmission of HIV in the United States within a decade, proposing significant new resources for programs that have not received major increases in the past few decades. The administration announced a budget for fiscal 2020 on Monday that follows President Trump’s State of the Union pledge to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. (Sun, 3/11)

Kaiser Health News: Trump’s Budget Offers $291M To Fight HIV In U.S. But Trims Overseas Efforts

The allocation to combat HIV in the U.S. would be split between multiple programs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive $140 million to work with state and local health departments to reduce new infections. Another share — approximately $120 million — would be directed to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which provides HIV-related medical care, support services and medications to patients. President Donald Trump pledged in his State of the Union speech last month to eradicate the transmission of HIV in the United States in the next decade. Jennifer Kates, vice president and director of global health and HIV policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said these funds “are actual real increases to those programs if they should go through.” (Heredia Rodriguez, 3/12)

The Wall Street Journal: Budget Proposal Adds Funding For Fighting HIV/AIDS In U.S., Cuts Contribution To Global Effort

It also proposed a 29% cut to its fiscal 2020 contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, a Geneva-based, international financing organization, and a $1 billion decrease in U.S. funding for the Global Fund over the next three years. The U.S. would match $1 for every $3 pledged by other donors in a coming fundraising round for the next three-year period, the budget said. That is down from a $1 for every $2 match from the U.S. during fundraising for the current three-year period, which ends this year. The new match level “challenges other donors to make significant new commitments to fighting the three diseases,” the budget document said. (McKay, 3/11)

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