Reps Watson Coleman, Kelly Send Letter to NIH About Cuts to Programs for Adolescent HIV Research, Prevention, and Care
Yesterday, Congresswomen Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12) and Robin Kelly (IL-02) sent a letter to National Institutes of Health Acting Director Matthew J. Memoli expressing concern about the recent suspensions of programs for adolescent HIV research, prevention, and care. Acting Director Memoli has interpreted Trump Administration executive orders as targeting a study to examine ways to prevent HIV infections.
The Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative (EHE) was begun in 2019 under the Trump Administration with the goal of reducing the number of new HIV infections by 75% by 2025 and 90% by 2030. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), infections among youth under 24 declined 30% between 2018 and 2022. The NIH needs to build on this success, not eliminate it.
The letter reads in part:
Ceasing current research and programs is dangerous to the health and wellbeing of the patients involved in ongoing studies and clinical trials. Efforts to better understand the impacts of HIV and AIDS on vulnerable populations fulfill the NIH’s mission and work toward the goal of the first Trump Administration’s EHE initiative. Ending these programs could have dangerous public health consequences if this necessary research is halted.
The letter requested information from NIH including: How many research projects on HIV/AIDS prevention and care have been frozen? How many people who benefit from the research projects have been impacted by their cancellation? And how [NIH] plan[s] to address HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and research in line with the Trump Administration’s EHE initiative while complying with these Executive Orders.
The letter can be read in full here.