President Biden Asks for $267 Million More to Fight HIV

In a preliminary budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2022, President Joe Biden asked for an additional $267 million on top of the $400 million allocated to help the Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative.

The initiative helps get HIV-positive people into treatment, and ensures that HIV prevention pre-exposure prophylaxis drugs such as Truvada and Descovy are widely accessible to the populations that need them the most.

As reported by HIV Plus Mag, the initiative's work to prevent greater HIV infection is working, but funding continues to fall short: "Biden's request won praise from some activists, but they said more needs to be done."

In a statement released by Carl Schmid, executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute, he called the president's funding request "substantial," but he explained why it is still subpar.

"While it falls short of what the community has requested, if this funding is realized it will continue the momentum already created and make further progress in ending HIV in the U.S. Efforts to end HIV will help eradicate an infectious disease that we have been battling for the last 40 years and help correct racial and health inequities in our nation," said Schmid.

President Biden has also asked for an increase in global health funding and more money for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, reported HIV Plus Mag.

A previous goal was set to reduce HIV infections by 90 percent by 2030. On the campaign trail, Biden shared that he wanted to see the HIV epidemic end by 2025.

The 2022 fiscal year kicks off Friday, Oct 1.