Partnership to End HIV, STD, and Hepatitis Condemns Trump Administration’s Proposed Reduction in Force at CDC and HRSA

WASHINGTON, DC, DC, UNITED STATES, March 28, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- CONTACT: Pavni Guharoy | pguharoy@nmac.org| 240 372 8394

The Partnership to End HIV, STD, and Hepatitis is sounding the alarm about the Trump Administration’s “dramatic restructuring” that cuts 10,000 jobs across the Department of Health and Human Services, which include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to this HHS statement, these proposed Reductions in Force (RIFs)—targeting key roles at CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention (NCHHSTP) and HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB)—would gut the federal workforce responsible for preventing infectious diseases and ensuring access to care for people living with HIV. The restructuring will result in 28 HHS divisions being shrunk into 15, and regional offices being reduced from 10 to 5.

“These are not abstract budget decisions—they are deeply damaging to our nation’s public health infrastructure that have taken decades to build and generate impact. Cutting staff at these agencies would have immediate and long-term consequences: disruptions to prevention services, delays in outbreak detection, and a weakened ability to support accountability for federally funded health programs. If these jobs are eliminated, communities will lose access to the federal expertise they rely on to keep people healthy and safe,” said Carl Baloney Jr., Chief Executive Officer Elect at AIDS United. “State and local health departments can’t do this work alone, and they were never meant to.”

At CDC's NCHHSTP, staff develop clinical guidelines, oversee disease surveillance, and provide technical support for HIV, STI, hepatitis, and TB programs nationwide. At HRSA, the HAB manages the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which delivers care, medication, and support services to more than 560,000 low-income people with HIV each year. Together, these agencies form the foundation of the nation’s public health response. “This is not just about federal jobs, this is about a loss of programmatic implementation that saves lives and creates long term health outcomes that save taxpayer dollars,” said Harold Phillips, Deputy Director of Programs, NMAC.

The proposed RIFs will also threaten momentum on the federal government’s Ending the HIV Epidemic initiative, which was launched in 2019 by the first Trump administration. Michael Ruppal, Executive Director of The AIDS Institute, noted that without the staff who implement and monitor this effort, national goals could easily fall out of reach. “These are the experts helping to drive progress. They support local communities, tracking outcomes, and making sure we don’t lose ground,” he said. “If they’re not at the table, the entire effort is weakened.”

The impact would be felt most in communities facing persistent adverse health outcomes—including in the Southern U.S. and rural areas, where public health departments and community-based organizations often depend heavily on federal support. Without the infrastructure and guidance provided by CDC and HRSA, these communities will be left with fewer tools and fewer people to respond to rising rates of HIV, hepatitis, and STIs.

The Partnership urges Congress and the Administration to halt these staff reductions immediately and instead prioritize investment in the federal public health workforce. The U.S. cannot afford to lose the people behind the policies, data, and programs protecting public health daily.

CDC and HRSA are already operating with limited resources. Removing staff now—especially the very people who implement and monitor public health programs—is reckless. We’ve come too far in our efforts to end the HIV epidemic to start rolling back progress.

For more information on the Partnership’s work, visit http://endhivstdhep.org.

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The HIV, STD & Hepatitis Policy Partnership is a coalition of five of the nation’s leading organizations focused on ending the HIV, STD, and hepatitis epidemics in the United States by sharing resources to advocate for HIV, STD, and hepatitis programs and appropriations. Formed in 2016, the group comprises AIDS United, NASTAD, the National Coalition of STD Directors, NMAC, and The AIDS Institute.

Pavni Guharoy
NMAC
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