2 Urban Girls: Funding restored for HIV prevention programs throughout LA County

LOS ANGELES – Congressional leaders celebrated the restored $20 million in previously frozen HIV prevention funds and surveillance programs for thousands of residents in South Los Angeles and beyond.

The frozen funds would have forced Los Angeles County to terminate contracts with 39 community health providers that would have cut services for HIV testing, STD screening, PrEP navigation, and community education.

Congresswoman Laura Friedman made the announcement outside the APLA’s Gottlieb Medical Center with APLA CEO and LA LGBT Center. on June 28.

“Let’s be clear, this freeze never should have happened,” said Congresswoman Friedman. “It was reckless, politically motivated, and it put lives at risk. I led the fight to get this funding restored because public health decisions should be based on science, not ideology. These grants support the very tools that have helped cut new HIV infections by 21% in targeted areas and I won’t stop fighting to protect them.”

Friedman led California Congressional democrats demanding the Trump Administration immediately release these frozen Congressionally appropriated funds for HIV prevention and surveillance programs and to provide clear answers on the status of these critical awards.

In a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CDC Deputy Director Debra Houry, Friedman and 22 of her colleagues sought clarity on behalf of the grant recipients.

“Although Congress has appropriated funding for HIV prevention in Fiscal Year 2025, several grant recipients have failed to receive adequate communication from CDC regarding the status of their awards,” Friedman and her colleagues wrote. “This ambiguity has caused health departments across the country to pre-emptively terminate HIV and STD prevention contracts with local organizations due to an anticipated lack of funding.”

Los Angeles County saw a decrease in reported HIV cases in the most recent year, with a 13% drop in the number of cases between July 2022-June 2023 and July 2023-June 2024, according to the LA County Department of Public Health but despite the overall decrease, residents in South Los Angeles, are still disproportionately affected by HIV.

APLA Health CEO Craigh Thompson applauded Friedman’s efforts as his organiztion grappled with the potential loss of staff to provide these critical services.

“When this funding was frozen, APLA Health and all of our community partners across Los Angeles County had to literally close critical public health services and lay off trusted staff and we literally had to close our doors to patient care,” said Thompson. 

“With the funding restored, we can get back to the work that we’re committed to doing, ensuring that everyone in Los Angeles County, all queer people, regardless of where you live, have access to high-quality, low-income, low-cost, or free HIV prevention, care, and treatment services,” Thompson continued.

Other organizations joined Friedman when she announced the news outside of the APLA’s Gottlieb Medical Center.

“These aren’t just services, they’re lifelines for people who already face barriers to care. And let’s be clear, the damage is already done,” said LA LGBT Chief Strategy Officer Terra Russell-Slavin. “The Trump administration created a situation where programs, including ours and others, had no choice but to start pulling back.”

The grants that were unfrozen for Los Angeles total $19,788,675 in federal investment for the period of June 1, 2025 – May 31, 2026. This represents an increase of $338,019 from their 2024 award, based on a full 12 months.