President Joe
Biden seeks to increase funding for efforts to end the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in the United States.
Biden's first
budget seeks an increase of $267 million for Ending the HIV Epidemic,
an initiative that started under former President Donald Trump.
Ending the HIV Epidemic seeks to “eradicate AIDS in 10 years.”
Trump said that it would “save the lives of individuals living with
HIV by focusing on the cities and states most impacted by the
disease.”
The program hopes
to reduce HIV infections by covering the cost of PrEP – a
once-daily pill that can dramatically reduce a person's risk of
acquiring HIV – for uninsured people. Individuals can sign up for
the program at GetYourPrEP.com or by calling 855-447-8410.
Biden campaigned
on ending the domestic HIV epidemic by 2025.
According to the
Washington Blade, Trump in his final budget asked Congress for
an increase of $412 million for the program. Congress allocated
roughly $137 million.
Increasing PrEP
adoption has been hampered by its high cost, nearly $2,000 per month.
The government has previously said that it negotiated a 90 percent
price cut for the drugs.
Other western
nations, most recently the UK, have rolled out similar programs aimed
at reducing new HIV infections with PrEP.