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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Over $2 million for HIV/AIDS patients in Puerto Rico

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded over $2 million in federal funding for the Aids Drug Assistance Program on the Island, announced today Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi.

"AIDS is an epidemic and these funds are critical to helping thousands of HIV/AIDS patients improve their health and quality of life, and access the medication they need. Every patient deserves the right medication and nobody wants to be on a waiting list. These funds help the local program enroll and serve more patients who are currently on the waiting list," said Pierluisi.

The Puerto Rico Department of Health will use the funds to provide needed medicines to people living with HIV/AIDS who have no health insurance and who are on the waiting list. This assistance totals $2,069,536, and is awarded through the federal Ryan White HIV/AIDS program. The grant allows more patients to be served and for these patients to receive their care more quickly.

Recently, the Puerto Rico Department of Health was allocated about $17 million in Ryan White funding to support its HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs for patients living in metropolitan areas. The grant announced today is in additional to the earlier allocation.