Tennessee's rejection of federal funds to curb HIV alarm prevention groups
The state plans to use public funds, which a spokeswoman for Governor Bill Lee says would be more efficient than receiving dollars federal. Some organizations fear being cut off if they don't align themselves with his conservative policies.
NASHVILLE - After offering free H.I.V. During a drive-in event last year, staff members at Nashville CARES, a nonprofit sexual health clinic, made an alarming discovery: a cluster of positive tests from just one neighborhood.
"There was one person who unknowingly spread it to multiple partners, and we were able to intervene quickly before it became a full-blown epidemic", said Lisa Binkley, who heads the clinic's HIV department. prevention team.
For this work and other efforts to stop the spread of HIV. in the Nashville area, Ms. Binkley and her colleagues have relied heavily on federal grants. So they were stunned when Tennessee's health commissioner announced earlier this year that the state would no longer accept $8.8 million in federal grants, which for more than a decade were split among groups nonprofits, county health departments, and healthcare organizations.
Tennessee is the only state to reject funding; Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, plans to allocate $9 million in new public funds for HIV instead. prevention and surveillance in July. The governor said the move would provide the state with greater independence in its decision-making. But some organizations say they're concerned the state won't provide them with funding if they don't align themselves with the governor's conservative positions on issues like transgender rights and his opposition to access to abortion.
"You can't politicize public health," said Mia Cotton, director of programs at Friends for Life, a nonprofit in Memphis which received the federal funding.
The state has not announced which groups will receive the funds, or rules for how they can be used, but the governor's office said its priorities include "vulnerable populations, such as victims of human trafficking, mothers and children, and first responders." ”
Public health experts say the examples Mr. Lee listed are at odds with the reality on the ground, as these groups represent only a tiny fraction new cases of HIV. cases in Tennessee, according to a recent report by the AIDS charity amfAR. According to Greg Millett, director of amfAR and epidemiologist, some of the most at-risk groups in the state are sexually active gay men, transgender women, and injection drug users.
In a letter last month to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provides the grants, the state health commissioner , Dr. Ralph Alvarado, quoted Governor Lee's desire to reduce the state's "reliance on federal funding" and to "assume increased independence."
Jade Byers, spokeswoman for Mr. Lee, said the new approach would be more efficient than the "heavy" process of...
The state plans to use public funds, which a spokeswoman for Governor Bill Lee says would be more efficient than receiving dollars federal. Some organizations fear being cut off if they don't align themselves with his conservative policies.
NASHVILLE - After offering free H.I.V. During a drive-in event last year, staff members at Nashville CARES, a nonprofit sexual health clinic, made an alarming discovery: a cluster of positive tests from just one neighborhood.
"There was one person who unknowingly spread it to multiple partners, and we were able to intervene quickly before it became a full-blown epidemic", said Lisa Binkley, who heads the clinic's HIV department. prevention team.
For this work and other efforts to stop the spread of HIV. in the Nashville area, Ms. Binkley and her colleagues have relied heavily on federal grants. So they were stunned when Tennessee's health commissioner announced earlier this year that the state would no longer accept $8.8 million in federal grants, which for more than a decade were split among groups nonprofits, county health departments, and healthcare organizations.
Tennessee is the only state to reject funding; Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, plans to allocate $9 million in new public funds for HIV instead. prevention and surveillance in July. The governor said the move would provide the state with greater independence in its decision-making. But some organizations say they're concerned the state won't provide them with funding if they don't align themselves with the governor's conservative positions on issues like transgender rights and his opposition to access to abortion.
"You can't politicize public health," said Mia Cotton, director of programs at Friends for Life, a nonprofit in Memphis which received the federal funding.
The state has not announced which groups will receive the funds, or rules for how they can be used, but the governor's office said its priorities include "vulnerable populations, such as victims of human trafficking, mothers and children, and first responders." ”
Public health experts say the examples Mr. Lee listed are at odds with the reality on the ground, as these groups represent only a tiny fraction new cases of HIV. cases in Tennessee, according to a recent report by the AIDS charity amfAR. According to Greg Millett, director of amfAR and epidemiologist, some of the most at-risk groups in the state are sexually active gay men, transgender women, and injection drug users.
In a letter last month to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which provides the grants, the state health commissioner , Dr. Ralph Alvarado, quoted Governor Lee's desire to reduce the state's "reliance on federal funding" and to "assume increased independence."
Jade Byers, spokeswoman for Mr. Lee, said the new approach would be more efficient than the "heavy" process of...
What's Your Reaction?
