Federal HIV programs in 10 American metropolitan areas each received a grant of roughly $100,000 to bolster their efforts in the fight against the epidemic. The grants to the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program arrive thanks to the Trump administration via the Health Resources and Services Administration’s HIV/AIDS Bureau, according to a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The Trump administration announced the 10 grants on June 27, National HIV Testing Day.

The grants will be used to fund medical and support services, infrastructure maintenance and education efforts as well as to improve all aspects of the HIV care continuum.

The 10 metropolitan areas receiving $100,000 include the counties that house these cities:

  • Atlanta
  • Boston
  • Detroit
  • Jersey City
  • Minneapolis-St. Paul
  • New Haven
  • New Orleans
  • San Antonio
  • San Diego
  • Tampa-St. Petersburg

With the exception of Minneapolis-St. Paul and New Haven, the recipients are among the 48 counties, or “Part A jurisdictions,” singled out by HHS last year as having unusually high HIV rates. In fact, more than 50% of new HIV cases in 2016 and 2017 throughout the nation occurred in these 48 counties plus Washington, DC, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

“HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program plays a critical role in the United States’ public heath response to ending the HIV epidemic,” said HRSA administrator George Sigounas, MS, PhD, in the statement. “These grants will help ensure…the most vulnerable people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States have access to lifesaving care and treatment to improve health outcomes and reduce HIV transmission.”

The grants are part of Trump’s Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America. That initiative strives to reduce new HIV diagnoses by 90% in the next decade. The plan also seeks to diagnose people earlier, treat them quickly and help them maintain an undetectable viral load. It also aims to increase prevention efforts and rapidly detect and respond to emerging HIV transmission clusters.

In related news, Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Núñez is already working with the federal government to tackle its HIV epidemic, one of the worst in the nation. For more, click here.