$550 million to fight HIV/AIDS

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced $550 million in grants to fund primary care and support services for individuals living with HIV/AIDS in 56 cities and major urban areas.

The grants are awarded to 22 eligible metropolitan areas (EMAs) with the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS, and to 34 transitional grant areas (TGAs) experiencing increases in HIV/AIDS cases and emerging care needs.

The awards are provided under Part A of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, which is administered by HHS' Health Resources and Services Administration.

To be eligible as EMAs, metropolitan areas must have a cumulative total of more than 2,000 AIDS cases over the most recent five-year period and a population of 50,000 or more persons.

Cities are considered TGAs if they have at least 1,000, but not more than 1,999, cumulative AIDS cases during the most recent five years, and a population of 50,000 or more persons.

"Historically, Part A grants target care and services to major urban areas with the highest concentration of HIV/AIDS cases," said HRSA Administrator Elizabeth Duke. "But these funds also enable us to direct essential services such as counseling and testing to emerging areas to help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS."

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (http://hab.hrsa.gov/) helps more than 530,000 individuals every year obtain the care and services they need to live longer, healthier lives.

A list of grant awards is available on-line at: http://newsroom.hrsa.gov/releases/2008/RWPartAMarch.htm

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated, or medically vulnerable.