Four Decades of Innovating and Empowering Communities to End the HIV Epidemic

More than four decades ago, in June 1981, the first cases of HIV were reported in the United States.1 In 2021, more than 36,100 people were diagnosed with HIV in the United States. Approximately 1.2 million people in the United States had HIV in 2021, and approximately 13 percent of them did not know they had it.2

Today, people with HIV who take HIV medication as prescribed and reach viral suppression cannot sexually transmit HIV to their partners and can live longer and healthier lives. On August 18, 1990, Congress enacted the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act—the legislation that created the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program (RWHAP)—to improve the quality and availability of HIV care and treatment for low-income people with HIV.

Early in the HIV epidemic, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program led on the frontlines in addressing the critical needs of people with HIV to reduce stigma and to train providers to deliver culturally-appropriate HIV care, treatment, and support services.

Today, HRSA’s Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides HIV care and treatment services to more than half a million people with HIV. The program remains committed to addressing health disparities by caring for the whole person and addressing their social determinants of health.

We encourage you to explore the Living History website to discover the history of the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program and the incredible progress the program has made toward ending the HIV epidemic.