CDC CHARTS NEW COURSE IN HIV PREVENTION

New Allocation of Funding will Help Reduce HIV Infections in the U.S.  

We are very pleased the CDC has decided to rectify these past inequities and now will base the distribution of funds on the number of people with HIV.www.cdc.gov/hiv/surveillance/resources/reports/2009report/pdf/table21.pdf 

In an era of constrained federal resources, it is more important that funding be distributed in the best way possible to reduce HIV infections.   This philosophy is laid out in the NHAS, which calls for efforts to intensify HIV prevention in communities where HIV is most heavily concentrated and distribute funding to areas where it is most needed and where the most impact can occur.
Moving to a formula based distribution of funds will undoubtedly create some redistribution. The CDC acknowledges this need to protect existing infrastructure by phasing in the changes over five years, limiting funding losses to no more than 25 percent in one year, and establishing a minimum award level. While this may be unpopular in the areas that will lose funding, it is the responsibility of the federal government and the CDC to do what is best for the nation overall in preventing HIV and reducing the number of new HIV infections.

The AIDS Institute acknowledges that distributing funds in a more equitable manner is just one component to improving our Nation’s effort to reduce HIV infections. We realize the total amount of funding that is available for HIV prevention is far from adequate and are advocating for increases. If the overall level of funding is reduced in anyway, the losses to the jurisdictions will be even greater.

We also realize that how the funds are spent on various programs, interventions, and populations is also critical to decreasing the number new HIV infections. We believe the CDC has done an excellent job of outlining and prioritizing prevention program elements in the funding announcement.

The CDC has the responsibility to ensure that its existing resources are distributed in the best possible manner to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the country. The AIDS Institute believes they have fulfilled this in the funding announcement.