What we know a week after Tennessee rejected federal HIV funding

It’s become increasingly clear that Tennessee’s rejection of federal funding for HIV prevention targets Planned Parenthood, which received some of the money for condom distribution. The state also says it plans to keep spending on HIV prevention, but prioritize HIV prevention for victims of human trafficking, first responders, mothers and children.

According to the Associated Press, Tennessee tried to sever ties with Planned Parenthood under former Gov. Bill Haslam, but a court sided with the nonprofit and an injunction remains in place today, which would have complicated pulling the money solely from Planned Parenthood. Instead, nonprofits including Nashville Cares and Neighborhood Health have been warned in a letter dated Jan. 17 that they will lose their funding May 31.

As of Friday afternoon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had not been notified Tennessee would refuse the grant money.

“We would certainly be concerned if the services people in Tennessee need to stay healthy were interrupted or if public health capacity to respond to HIV outbreaks and bring an end to this epidemic were hindered,” CDC press officer Scott Pauley said in an email to WPLN News.

Progress has stalled in recent years, especially in the South. The region accounts for roughly half of all new HIV infections nationwide.

More: Basic HIV testing and treatment in Nashville is being threatened by an unexplained state funding cut

The governor’s spokesperson has said the state is committed to providing the same level of funding, though that exact figure has not been disclosed. And the money would target the new priorities in mind.

Prioritizing more politically sympathetic groups is troubling public health experts, who note that the people most at risk in recent years have been men who have sex with men — and, in Tennessee, are disproportionately young and Black. Injection drugs and sharing needles have also resulted in concentrated outbreaks in recent years.

Dr. Aima Ahonkhai, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, says there’s an argument to be made that even those who oppose same-sex relationships should “selfishly” consider how targeting people at highest risk helps them.

“Everyone who needs care, deserves care. But if we just take a community perspective, if we don’t care for the people in our community, this disease gets further out of control for the whole community,” she says. “That has an effect on everyone, not just individuals who people might find morally objectionable. So it’s really difficult to hear all of this unfolding.”