Today [December 2], in commemoration of World AIDS Day, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced a record-breaking 90.6% of people with HIV receiving medical care through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program are virally suppressed, exceeding national viral suppression rates. Viral suppression means people with HIV taking their medication cannot sexually transmit HIV and can live longer and healthier lives. 

Health Resources and Services Administration

HRSA Administrator Carole Johnson, joined by White House Office of National AIDS Policy Director Francisco Ruiz and HIV community leaders, announced these latest data at a World AIDS Day community event at La Clínica del Pueblo in Northwest Washington, D.C. This milestone highlights the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program’s vital role in expanding access to care for individuals with HIV, improving health outcomes, and contributing to ending the HIV epidemic in the United States.

“At the Health Resources and Services Administration, the care and treatment we have continuously supported through our Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program over the last 34 years is making it possible for hundreds of thousands of people with HIV to live long, healthy lives,” said Johnson. “Today’s record-breaking data highlight the impact of the Ryan White Program and underscore the vital role of the program to ensure no communities are left behind as we work towards ending the HIV epidemic.”

HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, medication, and support services to more than half of people with diagnosed HIV in the United States each year. The program tailors approaches to best meet the needs of individual people with HIV and their communities, including by addressing health-related needs like housing, transportation, medical case management, mental and behavioral health care, and food access that directly affect the ability of patients to enter and stay in care and access treatment services. The federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. (EHE) initiative expands upon the vital work of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program to reach people newly diagnosed with HIV and people with HIV out of care by enhancing linkage to and engagement in care, decreasing disparities, and improving viral suppression. 

The new Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program data reflect several key milestones:

  • More than 576,000 people with HIV in the U.S. received life-saving care, medication, and essential support services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, representing over 50% of those with diagnosed HIV in the U.S.
  • Nearly 91% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients receiving HIV medical care were virally suppressed in 2023. This is up from 70% of clients virally suppressed in 2010 and significantly higher than the 65% virally suppressed nationally (which includes people who do not qualify or receive treatment through the Ryan White Program).
  • Nearly 48% of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients are aged 50 years and older, demonstrating the program’s success in supporting older clients and its commitment to addressing the unique needs of people with HIV as they age.

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program supports recipients that address the epidemic in communities most severely affected by HIV, including cities and counties (Part A); states and territories (Part B); local community-based groups that provide ambulatory health services for people with HIV (Part C); local community-based groups that provide medical care for low-income women, infants, children and youth with HIV (Part D); and for HIV workforce education and training, oral health care, and other innovative models of HIV care and treatment (Part F). 

To learn more about HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, visit ryanwhite.hrsa.gov.

For more information about HRSA’s role in the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative, visit www.hrsa.gov/ending-HIV-epidemic.

This news release was published by the Health Resources and Services Administration on December 2, 2024.