San Francisco
official expects level HIV prevention funding

Tracey Packer, interim HIV prevention director for the city of San Francisco, says she expects the city health department to request the same amount in HIV prevention dollars as it did the previous year, a reversal from annual calls for funding cuts during recent years, reports the Bay Area Reporter. In previous years the department proposed $1 million or more in cuts to AIDS programs to help close budget deficits in the city. But this year, with a smaller overall deficit projected than in previous years, Packer expects a health department proposal that includes flat-funding for most AIDS services.

"I think the city is committed to HIV prevention and care," she told the Reporter. "If there are cuts, we'll manage it. The goal is to maintain services."

However, San Francisco is facing as much as $9 million in cuts in its federal Ryan White CARE Act grant, which likely will force the city's HIV Prevention and Planning Council to find ways to integrate HIV prevention activities and care and support programs, says Packer, who is the cochairwoman of the council. "We want to look at how closely we can link things in the future and, as funding decreases, how we can work together," she told the Reporter. (Advocate.com)