“Many of these federal programs have not been re-evaluated in years, nor have they been audited for waste, fraud, or abuse.”
President Trump and DOGE are on the right track when it comes to re-evaluating the federal government’s public health programs, focusing on HIV/AIDS. So writes Joseph O’Neill, former White House Director of National AIDS policy under President George W. Bush, architect of the successful President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, and HIV/AIDS policy advisor to Log Cabin Republicans, in a new op-ed published this morning at Fox News.
“It’s easy to panic over reports of specific cuts or reorganizations to HIV/AIDS programs,” O’Neill writes. “Opponents of the Trump administration have every reason to fear-monger around the issue, as federal funding for prevention efforts is generally popular. But, if we genuinely care about the fight against HIV/AIDS, we must recognize that these programs, like the federal government itself, are not perfect.”
“While it is critical that the United States’ demonstrably effective long-standing strategy tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the resources dedicated to it, remain intact, many of these federal programs have not been re-evaluated in years, nor have they been audited for waste, fraud, or abuse,” O’Neill says. “Advocates in support of maintaining the United States’ aggressive approach to the HIV/AIDS epidemic should welcome the review of HIV/AIDS specific initiatives to ensure that they are optimally designed to meet the needs of the current epidemic.”