HIV & AIDS

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AIDS United Statement on Conferenced FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education, and THUD Appropriations—Protecting Bipartisan Progress to End the HIV Epidemic

AIDS United welcomes the HIV-focused investments included in the conference agreement covering the FY 2026 Labor-HHS-Education, and Transportation-HUD (THUD) appropriations bills. At a moment when communities are working to sustain hard-won momentum, these bills reflect the enduring, bipartisan understanding that ending the HIV epidemic is achievable, and that Congress has a responsibility to support and uphold the programs that make that goal real. This agreement maintains critical federal commitments across prevention, treatment, and housing stability, all cornerstones of HIV outcomes. It underscores why the U.S. Senate must continue to serve as a firewall against efforts that would undermine care and […]

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Military ban on HIV-positive enlistees could set dangerous precedent, experts warn

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The Trump administration’s fight to prevent HIV-positive people from enlisting in the military will soon be settled, but not before upending the lives of those who want nothing more than to serve.  The Department of Defense has ordered officials not to train new recruits who are HIV-positive, according to guidance sent by the U.S. Military Entrance Processing Command and obtained by CNN. The order, sent January 16, states “we are pausing shipping any HIV+ applicants and will follow-up in the coming weeks,” pending a ruling from an appeals court.  “As someone who was illegally kicked out of the Peace Corps for testing positive for […]

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What the AIDS crisis stole from Black gay men

Sex scares me. As a teenager, at a time when most young men were starting to physically connect with their new, exciting, primal sexual desires, the blood in my body was flowing through my veins just as fast. There was nothing unusual about puberty. Except that my desires were for other men. I had no references, images, or examples. No place to go, and no one to talk to about these feelings. My resources included a pamphlet from my godmother on men’s bodies. I clung to a passage in it on how common it was for teenage males to have sexual […]

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Delta Failing Their Employees by Restricting Access to PREP Drugs

In violation of the ACA preventive services coverage requirement, Delta Air Lines, which has 100,000 employees in the United States, is only covering daily oral generic PrEP to prevent HIV without prior authorization.  Contrary to the ACA, it is refusing to cover the full array of PrEP drugs specifically required by the United States Preventative Services Task Force (“UPSTF”) without access restrictions in its employee health plan. In recent months, the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute has reached out to Delta officials after employees received notice that Delta would no longer cover a branded oral PrEP drug. Delta’s Chief Health and Wellness Officer responded initially that the notices […]

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CVS tells HIV activists that pharma company Gilead needs to lower price of PrEP drug if it wants it covered

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An executive from CVS has demanded Gilead lower the prices of a new HIVprevention drug in an email . Dr. Michelle Guardine, chief medical officer for CVS Caremark, sent an email to PrEP4All, an organization working on PrEP access, that has demanded the pharmacy chain cover the new drug Yeztugo, also known as lenacapavir. In the message, which was posted to social media, the executive said the reason CVS controversially refused to cover the highly effective pharmaceutical was a concern over costs. “We believe that easy access to PrEP medications is critical for Americans who may be exposed to HIV,” Gourdine wrote. “Our formularies cover […]

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Republicans seek deep cuts to HIV prevention and treatment funding

In his 2019 State of the Union address, President Donald Trump pledged to boost HIV spending, with the lofty goal of bringing the nation’s epidemic to heel by 2030. Last year, this federal initiative, Ending the HIV Epidemic, demonstrated progress. This year, however, Republicans are seeking deep cuts to HIV prevention and treatment funding. The Trump administration proposed in its 2026 budget request to eliminate the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HIV-prevention division, and House Republicans are seeking nearly $2 billion in HIV-related cuts in their federal health spending bill. The Senate, on the other hand, proposes to keep HIV funding essentially at current levels in its corresponding […]

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AIDS United Launches Advisory Council to Advance HIV Care and Prevention for Black Women

AIDS United’s Melanated Movement team is proud to announce the launch of the Melanated Movement Engagement Advisory Council, a group of women-identified leaders committed to reshaping the narrative around HIV care and prevention for both Cis and Transgender women. Rooted in the principles of ViiV Healthcare’s From Risk to Reasons initiative, the Melanated Movement portfolio focuses on the motivations, strengths, and resilience that empower Black women to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health for both Cisgender and Transgender women. The Advisory Council will serve as a guiding body, helping shape the program’s growth, outreach, and impact while ensuring that the voices and experiences of […]

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The president just halved the budget of a massively successful HIV-prevention program

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The current presidential administration is slashing the lifesaving PEPFAR program for HIV relief, despite earlier public assurances to lawmakers and advocates that funding for the program was secure. Funding will be cut by half for both this and next year’s federal budgets, before he shuts down the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) completely, according to members of the program’s staff as well as budget documents viewed by The New York Times. PEPFAR has saved an estimated 26 million lives since it was introduced by President George W. Bush in 2003. The massive cuts come after PEPFAR’s supporters were lulled into […]

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How the Black AIDS Institute continues to fill in the gaps

Grazell Howard is a living embodiment of the Black AIDS Institute’s motto of “Our People. Our Problem. Our Solution.” Clear-eyed about the failures of a movement to truly address the needs of those most impacted by the virus, her assessment of this moment in which Black and brown communities are still disproportionately affected by HIV is simple.  “I think what we did, unintentionally, is we went to the largest disease-burdened group, which were men who have sex with men — and that’s fine, that’s what you’re supposed to do,” she said. “However, we never then came back and said, ‘It impacts all of us. We […]

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House Oversight Democrats demand records over RFK Jr.’s HIV program cuts

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Two senior House Democrats, including the first out gay immigrant member of Congress, are demanding records and explanations from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. following what they describe as a politically driven dismantling of HIV prevention, treatment, and research programs under the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget proposal. In a Thursday letter to Kennedy, Rep. Robert Garcia, ranking member of the powerful House Oversight Committee and representing California, and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the Oversight Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services and representing Illinois, accused HHS of systematically abandoning decades of bipartisan progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS in both domestic […]

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