Congressman Cohen Announces $6.67 Million HIV Grant

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded to Shelby County a grant of $6,671,979 from its Ryan White HIV Emergency Relief Program. Congressman Cohen made the following statement:

"The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program has had exceptional success in stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS. This grant funding will help Shelby County provide needed care for those affected by HIV and AIDS, and will continue to improve treatment outcomes in Shelby County. It will save lives."

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides a comprehensive system of care that includes primary medical care and essential support services for people living with HIV who are uninsured or underinsured. The Program works with cities, states, and local community-based organizations to provide HIV care and treatment services to more than half a million people each year. The Program reaches approximately 52 percent of all people diagnosed with HIV in the United States.

The grant program is named for Ryan White, an Indiana teenager and hemophiliac who contracted AIDS from infected blood. He died in 1990.