WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th February, 2020) The United States awarded $117 million to a government program that seeks to reduce new HIV infections in the United States, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced in a press release on Wednesday.
This investment will help fund a Trump administration program titled, "Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE)," which aims to reduce the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 90 percent by 2030, the release said.
"The EHE initiative and today's awards focus on 48 counties, Washington, DC, and San Juan, Puerto Rico - geographic areas where more than 50 percent of new HIV diagnoses occurred in 2016 and 2017, as well as the seven states with a substantial rural HIV burden," the release said.
The awards will be used to identify at-risk individuals and engage in preventive services, test for HIV, and prescribe pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) when appropriate, according to the release.
Much of the $117 million will help fund private organizations on the front lines of preventing and reducing HIV transmission, according to the release.
