CDC awards $49 million for HIV prevention programs

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued $49 million in grants on Friday to 142 organizations around the country for programs that aim to keep HIV-positive people from exposing others to the virus. The grants were part of the CDC's shift in HIV prevention efforts from traditional programs aimed at keeping HIV-negative people from getting infected to so-called prevention-for-positives efforts, which are aimed at keeping HIV-positive people from infecting others through unprotected sex and shared drug paraphernalia. The CDC has said traditional HIV prevention efforts have failed to reduce the 40,000 new HIV infections that occur annually in the country. The new grants provide $23 million for prevention efforts for partners of HIV-positive adults, $14 million for counseling and testing programs, and $12 million for education programs. More than 80% of the groups receiving CDC funding focus their efforts on minority populations, and 41% of the funds will go to programs targeting gay and bisexual men. The CDC money will be disbursed in July. Because of the CDC's focus on prevention-for-positives programs, nearly two thirds of the HIV prevention organizations that previously received federal funding for HIV prevention outreach will no longer receive CDC grants.