Federal Support for Tribal HIV Programming

WHEREAS, the National Indian Health Board (NIHB), established in 1972, serves all Federally recognized American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) Tribal governments by advocating for the improvement of health and public health care delivery to AI/ANs, as well as upholding the Federal government’s trust responsibility to AI/AN Tribal governments; and

WHEREAS, AI/AN Tribes have largely been left out of the development of the U.S. public health infrastructure during the last century; and

WHEREAS, AI/AN peoples have been disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic since its inception in the early 1980s; and

WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that from 2010 to 2016, the annual rate of HIV diagnoses increased by 46% among AIANs overall and 81% among AI/AN gay and bisexual men and that AI/ANs continue to have among the lowest rates of care retention and viral suppression of any population; and

WHEREAS, the federal government launched a bold new initiative titled Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America in 2019 that promised new resources and funds to areas exhibited the highest incidence and prevalence of HIV; and

WHEREAS, the Indian Health Service (IHS) was named as a primary partner in the development of the initiative and was to serve as a lead partner in its implementation; and

WHEREAS, the White House budget proposal for FY2020 included a dedicated $25 million allocation for HIV and viral hepatitis C prevention and treatment for IHS; and

WHEREAS, Congress, upon subsequent budget negotiations, passed a final FY2020 budget package that did not include any dedicated HIV resources for IHS; and

WHEREAS, CDC released Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) PS19-1906: Strategic Partnerships and Planning to Support Ending the HIV Epidemic in the United States on June 12, 2019, that specifically excluding Tribes and Tribal organizations from eligibility to apply; and