Mar 21, 2013
TAKE ACTION: Governor's Proposed Budget Makes Dangerous Cuts to State AIDS Treatment Program
Raleigh, N.C. -- Governor McCrory’s budget proposal announced Wednesday would cut $8 million from the state’s AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP). The program provides medications to qualified North Carolinians living with HIV who cannot otherwise afford them.
Currently, about 35,000 North Carolinians are living with HIV. Almost 6,500 of those receive life-saving medications through the state’s HIV medication programs.
According to Lisa Hazirjian, executive director of the North Carolina AIDS Action Network, McCrory’s proposed cuts to this critical public health program would directly impact thousands of vulnerable HIV-positive North Carolinians.
“Ensuring that everyone living with HIV in North Carolina has access to the medications they need saves lives and lowers the rates of new infections," said Hazirjian. "The Governor should not abdicate his responsibility for the health of the people of this state."
Cuts to North Carolina's ADAP program could also impact HIV transmission rates throughout the state. A 2011 UNC study showed that HIV treatment can lower transmission rates by up to 96 percent.