The state of Tennessee is cutting funding for HIV prevention, detection and treatment programs that are not affiliated with metropolitan health departments effective May 31. Organizations across the state were formally notified on Wednesday.
In an email obtained by The Commercial Appeal, the United Way of Greater Nashville – which manages funds donated to the Tennessee Department of Health by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – told partner organizations that there would be a change to the state’s HIV prevention.
“TDH informed the United Way that CDC Prevention and (Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US) funding will end on May 31, 2023. TDH will utilize other state initiatives to support all HIV prevention and surveillance teams and activities. in funded metropolitan health departments and these contracts will be effective through June 1, 2023,” said Niki Easley, director of the HIV/AIDS Initiative for the United Way of Greater Nashville.
CDC donations for HIV-related services will continue to other states; the state of Tennessee will not receive the money going forward.
In a separate email obtained by The Commercial Appeal, state epidemiologist John Dunn told affected organizations that the federally funded Ryan White program would not be affected.
USA Today Network-Tennessee reached out to the Tennessee Department of Health but did not receive a response.
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According to the TDH, the CDC grant funds: “HIV counseling, testing and referral, HIV partner counseling and referral services, HIV health education and risk reduction programs, HIV prevention for positive individuals, public information programs, a free HIV/STD hotline service, training programs and a quality assurance and evaluation component.”
Ashley Coffield, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, said the disruption to HIV funding for community organizations is likely to hit Shelby County the hardest.
“The state health department pulling out of CDC funding for HIV prevention will impact community organizations that are on the ground doing the preventative work needed to end the HIV epidemic in Shelby County. It’s politics before people and it puts people’s health and well-being at risk,” Coffield said.
Although funding will officially cease on May 31, the state health department has already deleted Planned Parenthood from its website as a listed free condom distributor. According to Internet filing service the Wayback Machine, Planned Parenthood was listed as a condom distributor.
The CDC did not return a request for comment.
According to the federal agency, Shelby County is part of the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the US initiative because it is one of 50 local areas that account for more than half of all new HIV diagnoses nationwide.
Preliminary CDC data shows that 831 new HIV cases were diagnosed in Tennessee in 2021 and 575 new cases were diagnosed in the first nine months of 2022. AHEAD, which tracks only HIV-related data, includes a subset of data for County Shelby. According to AHEAD, Shelby County saw 232 new HIV diagnoses in 2022.
All entities that track HIV data point to a general decline in new diagnoses since the height of the US HIV and AIDS epidemic. This is largely due to urban and rural community programming that raises awareness of transmission risks, distributes prophylaxis, and provides access to testing.
How drastically the HIV prevention landscape in Tennessee will be affected is unclear. After the May cut, organizations that provided these funds will have to scramble to secure new avenues of funding.
Also on Wednesday afternoon, US Representative Steve Cohen announced a $1.2 million donation to an HIV/AIDS program that helps provide comprehensive care services for people living with HIV who are uninsured or insured. insufficient.
“Shelby County’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS program has been successful in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing treatment to patients in need,” said Cohen. “This funding will help Shelby County provide care for those affected by HIV and AIDS. It will improve treatment outcomes for patients in Shelby County and ultimately save lives.”
Some of the community and health organizations that will be affected include:
- AHS Alliance Healthcare Services, Memphis
- Cathedral of Praise, Memphis
- Cherokee Health Systems, statewide
- Choice Health Network, statewide
- Friends for Life, Memphis
- OutMemphis, Memphis
- Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi, Memphis and Knoxville
- Children’s Research Hospital St. Jude, Memphis.
Reporter Frank Gluck contributed to this report.
Corinne S Kennedy covers health, economic development and real estate for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached via email at Corinne.Kennedy@CommercialAppeal.com
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal, covering access and equity issues. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.
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