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President Trump, in his final World AIDS Day proclamation on Monday night, acknowledged the “untold suffering of millions of people both here at home and abroad” as a result of the HIV / AIDS epidemic, but ends his administration without once resorting to the annual declaration to recognize LGBTQ people are disproportionately affected by the disease.
It was the last of the Trump administration’s four formal proclamations on World AIDS Day and the National HIV Test. None of these statements include a reference to LGBTQ people, although health disparities mean that LGBTQ people face high rates of HIV / AIDS infection.
Instead, Trump highlights his administration’s plan to “End the HIV Epidemic,” which he announced during his 2019 State of the Union address. The Department of Health and Human Services interagency initiative seeks to eliminate at least 90 percent of new HIV infections in the United States within 10 years with a PrEP focus on diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and response.
“Through these and other initiatives we are closing a painful chapter in human history,” Trump says in the proclamation. “Over the past decades, HIV and AIDS have inflicted untold suffering on millions of people both here at home and abroad. But by the end of this decade, we will have removed this scourge from our country and freed much of the rest of the world from its deadly grip. “
Trump vaguely put the disproportionate impact of HIV / AIDS on underserved communities with a phrase concluding that “it is very clear that this deadly disease disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities.” But none of these racial or ethnic minorities are listed, nor any kind of sexual minority, such as LGBTQ people.
Although Trump’s recognition of “racial and ethnic minorities” is a step up from previous statements, which did not recognize HIV / AIDS as a social justice issue in any capacity and not just as a disease, Trump has along of each of his four years in office has decreased. to offer that recognition to LGBTQ people.
In contrast, Obama in his 2016 proclamation said that HIV / AIDS predominantly affects “gay and bisexual men, transgender people, youth, African-Americans and Latinos, people living in the southern United States, and people who inject drugs.”
The Washington Blade has submitted a request to the White House seeking comment on why Trump once again failed to mention LGBTQ people in his World AIDS Day proclamation.
In touting his plan to beat HIV at home by 2030, Trump points to the effectiveness of PrEP, which his administration made free for people who have a prescription but don’t have health insurance coverage, as well as post-infection prophylaxis. HIV exposure and testing.
“Under this plan, our nation’s scientists, researchers and medical professionals have been able to identify where HIV is spreading most rapidly, informing decisions about where to focus funds and providing support to public health officials who are addressing the issues. needs at the local level to eradicate AIDS, ”says Trump.
Additionally, Trump commends the National Institutes of Health for continuing its work to develop a vaccine. (Earlier this year, Trump was mocked for wrongly saying during an event in the White House Rose Garden that an AIDS vaccine was developed when, in fact, it was only in testing stages and not yet. available to the general public).
Trump Praises PEPFAR After Repeatedly Seeking Big Cuts
Finally, Trump praises PEPFAR, or the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, for its continued distribution of antiviral drugs to combat HIV / AIDS around the world, primarily in Africa, as the “most successful health initiative. in American history. “
“When it was first launched in 2003, there were 26.6 million Africans infected with AIDS and only 50,000 received antiretroviral treatment that saved their lives,” says Trump. Today, more than 15.7 million men, women and children in Africa are receiving these vital treatments. PEPFAR has saved more than 18 million lives, prevented millions of HIV infections and accelerated progress towards controlling the HIV / AIDS epidemic in more than 50 countries ”.
However, Trump’s budget requests for each of his four years in office sought drastic cuts to PEPFAR. In his application for fiscal year 2021, Trump sought $ 3.2 billion for PEPFAR, which is $ 1.17 billion less than the money that Congress allocated for fiscal year 20 funding levels.
In previous years, Congress rejected the proposed cuts and continued to fund PEPFAR at existing levels. It remains to be seen how funding for a deal will work out in fiscal 2021.
