HIV/AIDS activists rallied at the Statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, earlier this week, urging lawmakers to continue funding the state’s AIDS drug assistance program (ADAP), according to local CBS affiliate WSPA. The state’s budget proposal would cut $3.7 million from South Carolina’s ADAP, which helps 3,000 low-income residents living with HIV afford treatment.

According to the article, previous budget cuts forced South Carolina’s ADAP to create a waiting list for those newly diagnosed. The state is among the nation’s top 10 for newly reported HIV cases but last for funding prevention programs.

“Our goal is to ensure that HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and the conversation around care in South Carolina is kept in the forefront,” said Bambi Gaddist, PhD, chair of the state’s HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force. “We are finding more and more infection…. That means the pool of people needing ADAP [assistance] is increasing.”