WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that Shelby County will receive a $1,386,681 grant from the Ryan White HIV Emergency Relief program from the Department of Health and Human Services.
This funding helps local governments provide HIV-related services to more than half a million people each year who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources for coping with the disease.
“Although we have made considerable progress in recent years, HIV remains a serious problem in the Ninth District,” said Congressman Cohen. “The federal funding from HHS’s Ryan White program will help thousands of Memphians suffering from AIDS and HIV to have access to the high-quality, comprehensive care they need and deserve.”
The Ninth District has received over $26 million dollars in Ryan White Program funding while Congressman Cohen has been in the United States House of Representatives. The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program is the largest federal program designed specifically to help people with HIV/AIDS. Since its inception in 1990, it has provided care and support to Americans across the country afflicted with HIV/AIDS. It functions as the “payer of last resort” – that is, it pays for the gaps in care for people who have no other source of coverage or face coverage limits. This funding has come through Part A of the program, which helps locales most severely affected by HIV/AIDS.