Tennessee leaders are responding to the recent news regarding HIV funding being cut in the state of Tennessee.
On January 19th, The Commercial Appeal reported that the state of Tennessee “is cutting funding for HIV prevention, detection, and treatment programs that are not affiliated with metro health departments as of May 31st.”
According to The Commercial Appeal, an email was obtained from the United Way of Greater Nashville which “told partner organizations there would be a change in the state’s HIV prevention program.”
A January 17th letter from Pamela Talley, medical director of the HIV/STD/viral hepatitis section of the Tennessee Department Health, stated that Tennessee has “provided HIV surveillance, testing, and prevention services through a CDC pass-through grant from the federal government.”
The letter also said that the state of Tennessee has determined “it is in the best interest of Tennesseans for the state to assume direct financial and managerial responsibility for these services.”
In the past, the CDC had awarded $10.10 million to health departments and organizations in Tennessee for HIV prevention and “care activities.” The CDC also projected in 2020 that Tennesseans living with HIV would face an average lifetime cost of $510,000.
AIDSVu, an online mapping tool by Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, reported that as of 2020, there were 6,283 people living with HIV in Shelby County, and 235 people were newly diagnosed. In Memphis, there were 6,589 people living with HIV, with 233 people being newly diagnosed.
In a statement released by the Tennessee Senate Democratic Caucus, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. John Ray Clemmons of Nashville said, “The decision is the latest instance of the governor turning his back on vulnerable Tennesseans.
“The Lee administration’s unilateral decision to cut funding to HIV prevention, detection, and treatment programs is only the latest example of his alarming lack of concern for Tennesseans’ health and well-being,” Clemmons said. “It is difficult for those of us who have personally experienced a loved one suffering and ultimately dying from this horrible virus to view this decision as anything less than a heartless act and offensive — it’s beyond the pale.”
Clemmons also stated that “multiple programs that serve communities across this state will be directly impacted by this callous decision, leaving them scrambling for funding to provide much-needed healthcare services.”
In the same statement, state Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis) said, “The administration’s irresponsible decision to reject federal funding for community-based HIV/AIDS prevention endangers the lives of Tennesseans. Our state has made steady progress against this incurable disease thanks to these exact public health efforts.”
Lamar also tweeted, “There is NOTHING ‘pro-life’ that has come out of Tennessee lately. Complete abortion bans. Foster care system worst in country. DCS. Rape kits. Now HIV funding cut. When I think it can’t get worse, the state proves me otherwise. People are not safe here.”
