The fiscal year 2012 budget, which proposed an increase in HIV/AIDS funding, was released on Feb. 14 by the Obama administration. The budget includes a $60 million transfer at the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, an $88 million increase for the expansion of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, and a $774 million increase at the National Institutes of Health for HIV/AIDS research. There are also plans for an increase in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and an increase in the support of global AIDS programs. The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights division, which fights HIV discrimination, will receive an 11 percent increase.
If the budget is approved by Congress, a large amount of money, not to mention, lives, will likely be saved. Regan Hofmann, editor-in-chief of POZ Magazine, an award-winning publication for people affected by HIV/AIDS, and living with HIV herself, has strong opinions on the FY 2012 budget and on how she perceives Congress will react. Hofmann pressed the fact that, “in economically restricted times, there are certain things that deserve greater investments because those investments ultimately lead to cost savings. HIV/AIDS is a prime example. We either pay more now, or pay a lot more later.” The increased budget could help to hinder a possible ballooning of the AIDS epidemic.
House Republicans’ plans, however, are less than uplifting. In an effort to get the federal deficit under control, they have proposed to cut Obama’s funding for global AIDS programs by a devastating $813 million. If Republicans are successful in their cuts, it could lead to at least 1.8 million lives lost, based on the fact that treatment costs under the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) are approximately $436 per patient, per year. Ironically, PEPFAR was championed by a Republican president, George W. Bush. The House Republicans’ budget actions also would cut $450 million of the United States’ contributions to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
In a recent State of the Union address, Obama made the bold statement: “I recognize that some in this chamber have already proposed deeper cuts, and I’m willing to eliminate whatever we can honestly afford to do without. But let’s make sure that we’re not doing it on the backs of our most vulnerable citizens.”
HIV/AIDS is both preventable and treatable and if the government takes the time and money to fight this disease, it can be conquered. Dr. Tom Frieden, head of the CDC, claims the fight against HIV/AIDS is a “winnable battle.” President Obama asserts that he will veto the House budget bill, which would mandate cuts of about 6 percent from the 2010 federal budget level, if it were to reach his desk.
Congress should read, or reread, the opinion piece published in the ‘Washington Post’ on Dec. 1, 2010, where former President George W. Bush said, “On AIDS, to stand still is to lose ground.” Right now, the funding for PEPFAR is essentially flat funded.
The HIV patient and advocacy community is acutely aware of the budgeting issues and the dire need for an increase in funds for HIV/AIDS medicine. But what about the public at large? Money is tight for everyone, right? Nonetheless, the unfortunate outcome will be that fewer of “our most vulnerable citizens” will seek testing for HIV. It is discouraging for the poor to know there is no money to get much needed, lifesaving drugs… so why even get tested. This mindset could lead to an increase in the transmission of HIV, due to unknowing carriers spreading the disease, which in turn leads to more HIV/AIDS cases. More cases means more money spent, and this is the point Hofmann continues to make: pay now, not later.
Around The Web
- Budget cuts could mean 20,000 infant HIV infections (one.org)
- New York Activists Renew Push for Housing Assistance to HIV+ Residents (news.change.org)
- Kellee Terrell: HIV/AIDS In Black America: The Uphill Battle (huffingtonpost.com)
I like the way this article was written. Its makes a good case!