Ryan White HIV-AIDS Program Gets $2.2 Billion Award

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program would be awarded $2.2 billion for the fiscal year of 2015-2016 to continue to aid in the fight against these two diseases.

The award is proof that the agency fully supports the care system that the Ryan White CARE Act has created, which has helped over 500,000 people diagnosed with AIDS and HIV to have a better quality of life in the United Sates. They’ve been a key part of the public health response to HIV, and this award hopes to aid populations that are vulnerable in medical care coverage or finances when it comes to these two diseases.

Through treatment 81% of patients under the program were preserved in care and 78% were virally subdued, extending life expectancy and reducing HIV transmission.

Ryan White, head of the movement, was diagnosed with HIV at age 13 in 1984. Due to the stigma attached to the disease, he was alienated from friends and family, and though doctors told him he would not live beyond six months of diagnoses, he survived another six years. This prompted him to begin the program, and 25 years later, his program has become a leading organization in AIDS-HIV patient care.