On June 5th, 1981, the first five cases of a rare pneumonia affecting young gay men living
in California and New York were reported by the Center For Disease Control and Prevention,
marking the first official reporting of AIDS.
The early days were marked by stigma and misinformation, and so the Health Resources and Services Administration,
HRSA, the agency which administers the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program, led the front lines
to address the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States and around the globe to reduce stigma,
provide services, and train providers.
HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS program was named for the courageous young man who was diagnosed
with AIDS in December 1984.
Ryan was a 13 year old boy when he was diagnosed and given 6 months to live.
At the time, AIDS was a disease that was poorly understood.
When Ryan White tried to return to school, he fought AIDS-related discrimination from
his community.
Along with his mother, Ryan White rallied for his right to attend school, gaining national
attention, and he became the face of public education about his disease.
Surprising his doctors, the young man from Kokomo, Indiana lived 5 years longer than
predicted.
He died in April, 1990, one month before his high school graduation and only months before
Congress passed the legislation bearing his name.The Ryan White comprehensive AIDS resources
emergency act, the Ryan White Care Act, was signed into law that year, creating the Ryan
White HIV/AIDS program, but HRSA's impact on the lives of people with HIV began years
earlier.
In 1986, HRSA launched its first AIDS-specific health initiative, called the AIDS Service
Demonstration Grants.
During its first year, funds were made available to four of the country's hardest-hit cities:
New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Miami.
Grant recipients developed a community-based approach that was centered on case management.
Over the five years, the number of grant recipients grew significantly, from 4 in 1986 to 24 in
1990.
During the late 1980s, HRSA also laid the foundation for the AIDS Drug Assistance program,
known as ADAP.
In order to make AZT the first HIV/AIDS medication approved for use in the US available to people
who were uninsured and could not pay, HRSA launched the AZT Drug Reimbursement Program.
By the time the groundbreaking Ryan White Care Act became law, more than 150,000 AIDS
cases had been reported in the US, and more than 100,000 people had died.
The Care Act legislation became one of only a few disease-specific health programs in
the country.
The Care Act provided funding to cities, states, and territories, and to local community-based
clinics and healthcare providers with capacity to provide HIV services to undeserved populations.
In addition, the law required people with HIV be involved in implementing these programs.
When the Ryan White Care Act was re-authorized in 1996, other successful demonstration projects
were folded into the law, including programs focusing on the unique need of women, infants,
children and youth, and the AIDS Education and Training Centers program, to provide multi-disciplinary
education and training for providers who treat people with HIV.
Today, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program provides a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical
care, medications, and essential support services for low-income people with HIV.
More than 50% of people with diagnosed HIV in the US, nearly 519,000 people, receive
services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS program.
The program funds hundreds of grants to states, cities, counties, and local community-based
organizations across the county.
It provides care and treatment services to people with HIV to improve health outcomes
and reduce HIV transmission among hard-to-reach populations.
True to its original intent, recipients help determine service, delivery, and funding priorities
based on local needs and planning.
In 2018, 87.1% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS program clients receiving HIV medical care were virally
suppressed, meaning they cannot spread HIV to their partners.
This exceeds the national average of 62.7% among all people diagnosed with HIV.
Today, nearly 40 years since those first AIDS cases, we have the tools needed to end the
HIV epidemic in the US.
Ryan White HIV/AIDS program providers are a key component to achieving this goal by
providing leadership and access to high-quality, integrated HIV care and treatment services
for people with HIV/AIDS.