Researchers say that by the end of the decade, 70 percent The majority of people in the United States with HIV will live to be over 50. Because of advances in medicine, a diagnosis is no longer a death sentence.
“I’ve had the privilege of caring for some people with HIV for over 30 years,” he said. Melanie ThompsonOne Atlanta therapist said her patients often tell her, “You are my oldest relationship.”
But there is a problem with this: People with HIV are at higher risk for other health problems, such as diabetes, depression, and heart disease.
As their health needs grow, they require more support. Ryan White HIV/AIDS ProgramIt is a comprehensive federal system that provides primary medical care, medications, and essential support services for low-income people living with the HIV virus.
But core funding for the national network of clinics hasn’t changed much over the past decade.
According to KFF analysisAlthough thousands of new patients are being served under the program, inflation-adjusted spending has fallen from its peak in the early 2000s.
Laura CheeverRyan White, who oversees the program, said budget shortfalls make it difficult to prioritize the needs of older people with HIV, especially when many people with the virus have not been diagnosed or are not receiving any services.
“When so many people aren’t getting care, how do you decide where to spend the next dollar?” Cheever said.
President Biden‘S Budget Request A minimum funding bump has been sought for FY25 1 percent for the programme.
Latest funding for Ryan White — almost $466 million from 2019 — came as part of a Federal Initiative to End the HIV Epidemic By 2030.
But that program, launched by the Trump administration in 2019, was targeted by House Republicans last year try to cut them down budget of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
His reasoning? The initiative was launched just over a year before the global pandemic. Corona Virus The epidemic drew resources and attention from other public health priorities, but did not meet the goal of dramatically reducing new HIV infections by 2030.
Around the same time, Republicans were threatening a different HIV program from a different GOP administration: The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS ReliefOr PEPFARLaunched by George W. Bush,
Republicans blocked reauthorization of the programwho has helped millions of people around the world, despite rumors that her dollars have funded abortions.
Advocates worry that these cases signal a widespread lack of bipartisan support for HIV prevention and treatment, which threatens to undo years of progress in reducing infection and death rates — especially when older people with the virus don’t receive adequate care.
“It’s sad and shameful that elderly people with HIV have to go through what they are going through, but they don’t get the proper attention they deserve,” Jules LevinExecutive Director of National AIDS Treatment Advocacy ProjectAt 74, he has been living with HIV since the 1980s.
“Without a solution this will soon become a disaster.”
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