HIV Funding Matters: Sustaining Progress, Saving Lives

By 2023, 39.9 million people globally live with HIV, 1.4 million children and 38.6 million adults (WHO, 2025), yet unstable funding threatens progress in prevention and treatment. This fragility is starkly illustrated by Minnesota’s 24% HIV case surge in 2023, the largest increase in a decade, signaling urgent needs for sustained investment. Simultaneously, older adults with HIV endure compounding vulnerabilities in long-term care (LTC) systems, where stigma, discrimination, and culturally incompetent care violate their rights. Legislative action, such as the HIV Long-Term Care Bill of Rights, is needed in Minnesota to ensure equitable access and protections for aging individuals living with HIV. Inspired by New York’s Senate Bill S1783A and supported by advocacy organizations like SAGE, this policy brief urges Minnesota legislators to introduce and support similar legislation that safeguards dignity, equity, and comprehensive care for our state’s most vulnerable residents.