The June 20 Facebook post from the Ohio HIV/STI Hotline (OHIV) relayed the dire HIV situation in stark black and white:
Until further notice, all OHIV services and programs are stopped. This includes the Free Condom Project, Free Test-At-Home Kits, the OHIV Hotline, all collaborations and presentations, etc. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Visitors to OHIV.org are greeted with this message:
OHIV services are currently paused.
You can still use the website to access educational resources and submit PrEP Connect and Care Connect forms to get free PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV]. Please visit us another time to access other free sexual health resources.
Grant-funded HIV prevention & STI screening programs like OHIV Hotline are under attack.
Click here to read more.
Clicking that link takes you to a June 23 blog post titled “Funding Delay Prompts Stoppage of Grant-Funding HIV Prevention, STI Screening Programs,” by Equitas Health, which provides health care services to LGBTQ and HIV communities across several states. The blog post reads:
“The Ohio Department of Health (ODH) has informed Equitas Health and other subcontractors that the state agency has not yet received a new notice of award from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] for HIV Prevention and Ending the HIV Epidemic grant programs. These programs support OHIV, HIV testing programs, STI screening, and more. The grants expired on May 31.
“Because the CDC has not yet issued new awards, ODH cannot distribute funds to agencies across the state that are performing this important work. Without this funding, Equitas Health must immediately suspend all activities funded under the following grants until further notice:
• ODH Statewide Initiatives
• Toledo Lucas County Health Department
• Public Health Dayton Montgomery County STI Prevention
• Summit County Public Health STI Prevention
• Canton City Health Department
“Columbus Public Health has confirmed that the CDC grants they administer are funded for Equitas Health through June 30. Unless the CDC renews funding, those activities will need to also halt on July 1.
“The suspension of CDC-funded HIV and STI services statewide raises serious concerns for the communities we serve. Equitas Health is actively working with our funders to seek clarification and determine next steps. We are committed to keeping our patients, clients, and communities informed throughout this process. We will share updates as soon as we receive more information.”
Although it is possible that the funding is simply delayed—and not cut—advocates tell the Buckeye Flame they’re not expecting the grants to arrive at a later date.
About 25,600 people were living with diagnosed HIV in Ohio in 2023, according to the state’s health department. That same year, 861 new HIV diagnoses were reported. Of the new cases, 78% were among men, and 74% of new cases were among African Americans.
Since Trump took office in January, much of the current and future federal funding for health care programs and research has been in limbo, if not outright cut, including programs nationally as well as abroad, such as USAID [United States Agency for International Development] and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).
Of note, Trump’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget cuts over $1.5 billion from various HIV programs funded in the United States by the CDC, completely ending all its HIV prevention programs.
“This budget is a calculated attack on the very people who rely on HIV prevention, care, and housing programs to survive,” said Paul Kawata, executive director, HIV nonprofit NMAC. “The administration is once again proving that its priorities do not include the health or dignity of people living with HIV—especially those from marginalized communities.”
Similarly, federal employees have been laid off and certain information related to LGBTQ and HIV content has been purged from federal websites (in a confusing turnabout, some staff and researchers have been rehired and information reinstated). For example, in January, the Trump administration placed all federal diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) employees on paid leave, with plans for them to be laid off—just one of Trump’s numerous attacks on DEI efforts and programs.
To learn more about the upheavals in HIV funding, click #Federal Funding and #Budget Cuts. You’ll find headlines such as
“Senate Doubles Down on Life-Threatening Budget Bill,”
“Save HIV Funds That Congress Already Approved but Now Wants to Gut!,”
“Federal Cuts Imperil the Collection of Data on HIV, Cancer, STIs and More,”
“Watch Bodies and Coffins Pile Up in Protest Against Cuts to HIV and Health Services,”
“NIH Grant Cuts Threaten Progress in HIV Prevention and Treatment,”
“HIV Activists March in NYC to Protest “Death by 1,000 Musk Cuts” and
“Death, Chaos, Budget Cuts, Exemptions: Updates on Global HIV Program PEPFAR.”
