Reinvigorating the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative

In 2019, during his first Administration, President Trump launched the Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) Initiative with the bold goal of reducing the number of new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent by 2025, and then by at least 90 percent by 2030, for an estimated 250,000 total HIV infections averted. In 2016, just prior to President Trump first taking office, there were 38,500 new infections. Thanks in part to the EHE, by 2022 this had fallen by 19% to 31,800 new infections. EHE led to new resources and significant innovation.

Although we have observed declining new infections (notably among women) and improvements in viral suppression, we remain far off the EHE goals. While Congress increased funding for EHE during both the Trump and Biden Administrations, it never funded EHE at the levels requested by either administration. Success of the EHE will lead to more people with HIV in care and population trends mean that growing numbers of younger adults and others will need effective prevention services. Investments in EHE, however, will enable us to forego even greater national investments in treatment and services for ever larger numbers of people.

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