What is the HHS Minority HIV/AIDS Fund?
The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health oversees the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund. This Fund supports projects that help prevent HIV and improve health outcomes for racial/ethnic minority communities.
Which HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau Projects Are Supported by the HHS Minority HIV/AIDS Fund?
HRSA’s HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) applies for the HHS Minority HIV/AIDS Fund to support innovative models to improve health outcomes for people with HIV in racial and ethnic minority communities. Some of these projects may also be funded by the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP) Part F Special Projects of National Significance.
Current Initiatives
Building the HIV Workforce and Strengthening Engagement in Communities of Color (B-SEC)
Funded 2022-2026
The Building the HIV Workforce and Strengthening Engagement in Communities of Color (B-SEC) pilot project leverages the long-standing presence and trusted voice of minority serving institutions (MSIs) in communities of color disproportionately affected by HIV to educate and train students about HIV, raise awareness about the advances in the care and treatment of HIV, and reduce stigma. This initiative was awarded to the Black AIDS Institute (BAI) in Los Angeles, CA. BAI intends to expand and diversify the pipeline for the future HIV workforce and strengthen the engagement of Black communities in the fight against HIV.
Building Capacity to Implement Rapid ART Start for Improved Engagement in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program
Funded 2020-2023
To accelerate the start of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and entry into HIV care for people with HIV who are newly diagnosed, new to care, or out of care.
This initiative supports the implementation and evaluation of “rapid start,” or the accelerated entry into HIV medical care and rapid initiation of ART for people with HIV who are newly diagnosed, new to care, or out of care. The program funds 14 implementation sites that had the capacity and infrastructure to support rapid start implementation, but had not yet been able to, with the goal of replicating and expanding successful rapid start models. The University of California San Francisco is the initiative’s evaluation and technical assistance provider.
Learn more about Building Capacity to Implement Rapid ART Start.
ESCALATE (Ending Stigma through Collaboration and Lifting All To Empowerment)
Funded 2020-2024
Awarded to NMAC, ESCALATE (Ending Stigma through Collaboration and Lifting All To Empowerment) is an innovative training and capacity-building initiative specifically designed to address HIV-related stigma that creates barriers at multiple levels of the HIV care continuum. ESCALATE is open to all RWHAP recipients (Parts A, B, C, & D). This includes community-based organizations, federally qualified health centers, health departments, planning councils, and planning bodies.
The ESCALATE initiative also includes technical assistance (Abt Associates), a Learning Collaborative (NORC at the University of Chicago), and a Project Evaluation (TRX Development Solutions).
Improving Care and Treatment Coordination: Focusing on Black Women with HIV (Black Women First Initiative)
Funded 2020-2023
This initiative supports 12 cooperative agreements to design, implement, and evaluate the use of bundled interventions for Black women with HIV. Bundled interventions address socio-cultural health determinants, expand the delivery and utilization of comprehensive HIV care and treatment services, support continuous engagement in care, and improve health outcomes for Black women with HIV in a culturally sensitive and responsive manner. The demonstration sites funded under this initiative collaborate with the evaluation and technical assistance provider, which leads a multi-site evaluation, provides technical assistance, and disseminates findings and lessons learned from this initiative.
The evaluation and technical assistance provider, The University of Massachusetts (UMass) at Lowell in partnership with AIDS United, Boston University Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health, and Impact Marketing + Communications, lead a multi-site evaluation, provide technical assistance and disseminate findings and lessons learned from this initiative.
Learn more about the Black Women First Initiative.
Increasing Uptake of Long-Acting Injectable Antiretrovirals Among People with HIV
Funded 2022-2026
This initiative funds one coordination and evaluation provider (CEP), and was awarded to Columbia University in New York, NY. The CEP provides technical assistance, capacity development, and evaluation to support up to 8 demonstration sites responsible for development and implementation of protocols for successful uptake and continued utilization of long-acting injectable (LAI) antiretroviral (ARV) medications within clinical organizations that care for people of color with HIV.
Demonstration sites may be prioritized within EHE jurisdictions but should represent a diversity of clinical settings that include, but are not limited to, a variety of geographic locations, facility types, urban/rural settings, provider types, models of care, populations served, and payors. Each demonstration site will submit ongoing data for evaluation and scale-up of LAI ARV medication administration protocols supporting patients with historic difficulty accessing or continuing oral HIV therapy, thus improving viral suppression and retention in care, especially among racial and ethnic minorities.
Previously Funded Initiatives
| Project | Purpose |
|---|---|
|
Best Practices Compilation |
To develop an online inventory of successful intervention strategies implemented by RWHAP recipients and subrecipients. |
|
The HIV Housing and Employment Project |
To support innovative interventions that coordinate HIV care and treatment, housing, and employment services to improve HIV health outcomes for racial and ethnic communities. |
|
Jurisdictional Approach to Cure Hepatitis C in the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program |
To gather insights on jurisdictional-level approaches for the screening, care, treatment, and cure of hepatitis C virus in people with HIV. |
|
Using Community Health Workers to Improve Linkage and Retention in Care |
To increase the use of community health workers to improve access to health care and health outcomes for people of color with HIV. |
Find other federal projects supported by the Minority HIV/AIDS Fund.