FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 25, 2019
CONTACT: Cory Combs | [email protected] | 202-280-2398
“We are encouraged by the two-year budget agreement reached by the President and congressional leadership and urge Congress to pass the agreement so that we can significantly invest in our nation’s public health infrastructure and increase funding levels for HIV, STD, and hepatitis prevention programs in the final FY2020 appropriations bills.
Ending the HIV epidemic, combating high and rising STD rates, and expanding prevention and treatment services for hepatitis and other infectious diseases exacerbated by the opioid crisis will require substantial resources. We have already seen significant steps forward this year with the release of the Administration’s Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan and the passage of the FY2020 appropriations bill for the Department of Health and Human Services in the U.S. House of Representatives last month.
We urge Congress to take action now to provide crucial HIV, STD, and hepatitis funding. The Senate must act quickly and finalize appropriations bills before October 1 so that we can implement the Ending the HIV Epidemic Plan as soon as possible. Sustaining the gains made in the struggle against these epidemics and tackling the surging number of infectious diseases associated with the opioid epidemic requires greater investments and ongoing support.”
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AIDS United (AU), NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), NMAC, and The AIDS Institute (TAI) are national non-partisan, non-profit organizations who formed the Partnership to End HIV, STDs, and Hepatitis in order to secure the necessary rights, resources, and services for those affected by the HIV, STD, and Hepatitis epidemics through sound policies and appropriations at the federal level. endhivstdhep.org