For the first time since World AIDS Day began, the US government did not commemorate World AIDS Day on Monday.
First observed in 1988, World AIDS Day has long served as an annual reminder of the continued efforts to end the AIDS epidemic. More than 44.1 million people have died worldwide And it continues to disproportionately impact LGBTQ people, communities of color, and people in the American South. But the Trump-Vance administration refused to recognize the day this year, breaking a symbolic but consistent tradition followed by every president since Ronald Reagan.
This move was made despite the scale of the epidemic today. According to federal estimates, approximately 1.2 million people in the United States are living with HIV, and approximately 13 percent, or 158,249 people, do not know their status. The World Health Organization reports that 40.8 million people worldwide will be living with HIV at the end of 2024.
Presidents of both parties have used World AIDS Day to highlight progress, commemorate lives lost, and renew commitment to closing disparities in prevention and treatment. Past administrations have also commemorated this day through the display of AIDS memorial quilts. The quilt was first created in 1987 and has since spread across the National Mall and the White House lawn. Today, the quilt has more than 47,000 panels with the names of more than 94,000 people who have died from AIDS.
The White House’s silence this year comes in the wake of several major foreign aid cuts that President Donald Trump has announced after taking office in 2024. According to October report by KFFthe administration enacted a “90-day review of foreign assistance, followed by a ‘cease and desist order’ freezing all payments and services for work already in progress, disbanding USAID (including reductions in most staff and contractors), and canceling most foreign aid awards.”
These cuts have created significant funding gaps for non-governmental organizations around the world, many of which are working directly to prevent HIV infection and expand access to life-saving treatments.
The State Department dismissed criticism of the administration’s decision not to recognize World AIDS Day.
“Awareness Day is not a strategy. Under President Trump’s leadership, the State Department is working directly with foreign governments to save lives and strengthen responsibility and burden-sharing,” Deputy Press Secretary Tommy Piggott said in a statement. CNN first reported. “Earlier this year, we announced a Global Health Strategy aimed at streamlining U.S. foreign aid and modernizing our approach to infectious disease control.”
The United States has historically played a central role in the global HIV response. Since 2003, the United States has been the largest funder of HIV/AIDS programs, primarily through President George W. Bush’s PEPFAR initiative, investing more than $110 billion in the fight to end the epidemic.
Despite declines in overall infections, HIV continues to disproportionately impact racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ people, and men who have sex with men. More than half of all new HIV diagnoses occur in the South.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Initiative to End the HIV Epidemic in the United States The study focuses on 48 counties, Washington, D.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico, and seven regional states that accounted for more than half of all newly diagnosed cases in 2016 and 2017.
Supporters say the administration’s withdrawal from World AIDS Day, coupled with cuts to health programs at home and abroad, risks reversing hard-won gains.
“Although the number of new HIV infections decreased by 12% from 2018 to 2022, progress has been uneven, with Black people accounting for 38% of new diagnoses, Latinos accounting for 32% of new diagnoses, and more than half (52%) of new HIV diagnoses occurring in the South,” Jared Keller, senior spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, told The Washington Blade in an email. “CDC funding cuts have brought HIV prevention resources to historic lows and stripped support from HIV-focused programs.”
Legal and public health experts echoed this concern, saying that stopping HIV/AIDS is possible, but only if efforts are made gradually over time.
“HIV is a preventable and treatable disease, but only if research, organizing and engagement remain a priority for Americans and those who care about the health of people around the world,” said Jose Abrigo, Lambda Legal’s HIV Project Director.
White House cancels recognition of World AIDS Day amid HIV funding cuts This article first appeared in the Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
