The Trump Administration’s HIV Initiative: What Will It Take to End the U.S. Epidemic?

During this year’s State of the Union address, President Trump announced a new effort “to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years,” drawing national attention to the domestic epidemic and the promise of new prevention and treatment options that greatly reduce the risk of HIV transmission. The initiative includes a focus on 48 counties, seven states, Washington D.C. and San Juan, Puerto Rico – all places with high urban or rural HIV burdens – and proposes $291 million in federal funds for fiscal year 2020 – the first significant increase for prevention and treatment programs in more than a decade.

On Monday, April 22, KFF hosted a forum in Washington to explore the opportunities created by the new initiative and the challenges that could hinder its goal of dramatically reducing transmission in the United States.

The forum featured a conversation with Admiral Brett Giroir, assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, moderated by Jennifer Kates, a KFF vice president and director of global health & HIV policy.

In addition, a panel of experts involved in combatting the HIV epidemic around the country examined the different strategies and approaches that could help achieve the initiative’s goals in the hardest-hit communities in both rural and urban areas:

  • Heather Hauck, deputy associate administrator of the HIV/AIDS Bureau at the Health Resources and Services Administration;
  • Kendra Johnson, director of the STD/HIV office at the Mississippi Department of Health;
  • Michael Kharfen, senior deputy director of the HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis, STD and TB Administration at the District of Columbia Department of Health;
  • Jesse Milan, Jr, president and CEO of AIDS United; and
  • Dr. Melanie Thompson, an HIV physician and researcher in Atlanta

Event Date

Apr 22, 2019



KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.