Ryan White HIV/AIDS awareness program awarded $2.2B in grants

25 Feb 2019

U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced that the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program has been awarded $2.2 billion dollars in grants. The donation aims to ensure that the affected people in the United States are getting proper healthcare, necessary medication and treatment on time.

The Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act, is an act to make changes in the Public Health Service Act to arrange donations for providing proper medical care for people with HIV disease, and other purposes. Secretary Burwell said that the program has helped many under-privileged families in the past 25 years, as far as the public health response of the United Stated to HIV is concerned.

“These grants will make a difference for the most vulnerable Americans who lack adequate health care coverage or financial resources to pay for treatment,” said Burwell.

The Human Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), is an organization inside HHS that assists in providing care and treatment for those who are fighting against HIV. HRSA acting administrator James MacRae added that in 2013, 81 percent of program clients were retained in care and more than 78 percent of those who were in care are virally suppressed. White’s mother Jeanne recreated her son’s room at the Children’s Museum in Indianapolis, and showcased the exhibit on Monday.

White had acquired HIV virus through improper blood treatment when he was 13, and passed away at the age of 18 in 1990. He and his family had to undergo discrimination and bullying due to the disease. White’s childhood friend Heather Stephenson, who also suffered discrimination because of his friendship with White said Ryan White changed the world. The exhibit was a part of the museum’s Stand Up Against Bullying summit, an annual event aimed at educating school children about the dangers of bullying.

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