Trump administration weighing future of CDC's HIV prevention division
WASHINGTON, March 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. health department said on Tuesday it is reviewing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's HIV prevention division for overlap with other agencies but no final decision had been made about its future.
The Department of Health and Human Services made the statement after the WSJ and NBC, citing unnamed sources, reported the division could be dismantled.
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The CDC's $1.3 billion Division of HIV Prevention is tasked with tracking infections across the United States and promoting testing and prevention, including the use of the HIV prevention medications, also known as PrEP.
Carl Schmid, the executive director of the HIV+Hepatitis Policy Institute in Washington, told Reuters he had been told by a government agency source that the division might be shut down and that a decision would be made this week on the funding of HIV prevention at the CDC.
Schmid, who co-chaired the Presidential Advisory Council of HIV/AIDS during President Donald Trump's first term, said he understood all of the division's funding is "up in the air".
HHS, which oversees the CDC, said in a statement it was looking at all divisions for potential overlap as part of Trump's broader efforts to restructure the federal government and that no final decision had been made on the CDC's HIV Prevention Division.
"If this decision is even made, this work would be continued elsewhere at HHS," a department official said.
Another HHS agency, the Health Resources and Services Administration, contains the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program which provides HIV health services to low-income people.
The Trump administration's approach to HIV/AIDS policy is undergoing a broad shift. In January, the White House ordered an immediate halt to the distribution of HIV medications by U.S.-funded foreign clinics, disrupting treatment for millions worldwide.
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