Senator Durbin Questions CDC's Recent Grant Decisions for HIV Prevention

June 9, 2004

Writing to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, U.S. Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) raises new concerns about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) new HIV prevention initiative, Advancing HIV Prevention.

In a letter dated June 9, Sen. Durbin criticizes CDC for failing to renew funding to scores of experienced HIV prevention providers as part of $49 million in grants announced on May 21, 2004. The letter notes that more than two-thirds of the HIV/AIDS prevention organizations that previously received CDC funding were not selected for continuation funding as part of the new awards.

"The most striking and, in my estimation, shortsighted element of CDC's recent grants is its decision to divest support from some of the nation's most experienced HIV prevention organizations," Durbin says in the letter.

Durbin notes that many of the organizations denied renewal funding had previously been selected by CDC to develop their capacity to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate HIV prevention services in hard-hit communities of color. The loss of CDC funding for these programs may adversely affect at-risk communities, the letter says, and could force experienced HIV prevention providers out of business.

"In essence, it would appear that the decision has been made to forfeit the significant investment we have already made into these organization in favor of a new HIV prevention regime with yet untested providers," the letter says.

The letter asks Secretary Thompson to provide detailed information about the awards including the amounts and percentages targeted to serve specific minority communities, at-risk groups, and interventions. Sen. Durbin also asks Thompson to clarify the extent to which past performance influenced CDC's funding decisions.

The June 9 letter caps a series of statements on national HIV prevention policy by Sen. Durbin. Writing to Secretary Thompson in April, Sen. Durbin and nine other senators warned that, unless a significant new investment is made, the U.S. would likely make no progress meeting its five-year goal of cutting the number of new HIV infections in half from 40,000 to 20,000 annually. Writing to Thompson in June 2003, Sen. Durbin raised concerns about CDC's new HIV prevention initiative and noted that expanded emphasis on HIV testing and risk-reduction services for HIV-positive individuals, while laudable, would likely undercut successful HIV prevention education efforts already underway.

Durbin on Funding Decisions, June 2004 (PDF)

Senators on CDC's Five-Year HIV Prevention Plan, April 2004

Durbin on New HIV Prevention Initiative, June 2003

CDC's New HIV Prevention Initiative

CDC Annouces HIV Prevention Grants, May 2004

List of Grantees

Fact Sheet on CDC's Advancing HIV Prevention (PDF)