Trump promised to end HIV by 2030 — we can’t turn back now

As CEO of Grindr, the largest social media app for gay and bisexual men, I see the strides we’ve made combating HIV every day. Nearly 15 million people use our app to connect monthly, for dates, relationships, friendships, community, networking and health information. Gay and bisexual men, especially in the U.S. and Western world, are living full lives — something once unimaginable for those who survived the AIDS crisis in the 1980s.

Despite these strides, we know there is much more work to do to end the HIV epidemic in the U.S.

At the start of the first Trump administration, in 2016, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated there were around 38,700 new cases of HIV diagnosed that year. Abroad, those numbers were far worse: 1.8 million new cases. The rates of infection were dropping in most regions but rising in others. It seemed, like with just a bit more concerted effort nationally and globally, HIV could be fully eliminated. 

And so, in 2019, President Trump set a bold and ambitious goal at his February State of the Union address: Ending the HIV epidemic in the U.S. by 2030. It was a clear bipartisan recognition that ending HIV wasn’t just possible, it was within reach.

This goal was both aggressive and achievable. It gave us all hope for the future, where bipartisan collaboration could end a world-historic scourge that has killed 42.3 million people.  

Congress has been allocating over $3 billion annually to HIV research through the National Institutes of Health, yielding innovative treatments and vaccines that bring us closer to 2030. The CDC invested $220 million in 2024 to expand testing and PrEP (or pre-exposure prophylaxis) access in high-need areas, while the Health Resources and Services Administration supports nearly 1,400 health centers providing free HIV services. These efforts have been bolstered by programs like Ready, Set, PrEP and Trump-negotiated investments from firms like Gilead.  

The national strategy was bearing fruit. Prevention tools like PrEP became more widely available, and, and home test kits expanded access even further. New HIV infections were declining, from around 36,000 in 2018 to an estimated 31,000 in 2022. Deaths from HIV-related causes dropped to historic lows.  

For the first time, it felt possible to talk seriously about ending the epidemic. HIV became a manageable condition for millions. These gains weren’t automatic — they were the direct result of bipartisan, targeted investment. 

Our own global public health and human rights initiative has contributed to that moment. With a network that spans 261 partners in 84 countries, we’ve reached more than 14 million people every year. We’ve connected hundreds of thousands of our users with free HIV test kits and sent millions of users in-app reminders to get tested. And we’ve partnered with public health organizations in dozens of countries to promote access to PrEP and treatment.  

While HIV has disproportionately impacted gay and bisexual men for decades, this was never just a gay issue. Nearly one in four new HIV diagnoses are among people outside the gay community, including women, people who inject drugs and those in rural areas. A win in the fight to eradicate HIV would be a win for public health. 

This enormous progress, however, could be in jeopardy. While the administration’s initial budget request to Congress is scant on detail, it is clear in its intent to cut funding to longstanding HIV programs, such as those focused on education and prevention.  

The National Institutes of Health has already canceled more than $450 million in HIV research grants, including studies already underway. Legal challenges could remove requirements that insurers cover PrEP and other preventive care without cost-sharing, though the Trump administration opposed this at the Supreme Court earlier this year. Moreover, the long-term financial and societal costs of future care and treatment, as a result of not investing in prevention. are exponential.

These aren’t abstract risks: they’re already hitting our partners on the ground within the U.S. and around the world.

According to amfAR, a 50 percent reduction in funding for the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention would result in an additional 75,000 HIV infections and more than 7,500 AIDS-related deaths in the U.S. by 2030. A full elimination of funding could cause up to 143,000 new infections and more than 14,000 deaths, adding $60.3 billion in additional lifetime HIV treatment costs. 

Abroad, the situation is even bleaker, as we’ve started to see with recent disruptions in PEPFAR implementation. Our partners are already suspending mobile testing, halting distribution of HIV self-test kits, and shutting down health clinics across Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. We can send reminders, run campaigns and ship kits, but we cannot replace a public health infrastructure that’s being dismantled. 

I am fortunate and honored to be an American by choice, and have a deep belief in American exceptionalism and leadership that makes us the shining city on the hill. That’s true not just in global security but in technology, innovation and, yes, public health. And so, if we are going to defeat HIV, we cannot abandon our commitment to fully fund research, and we cannot walk away from our work to treat and prevent HIV. Such moves would be a shattering betrayal of that historic progress, pushing our community back into the shadows, and leading the federal government to higher costs down the road with a potential public health crisis. 

Trump could go down in history for his heroic 2019 goal, but only if he and his administration decide to see it through and work with Congress to fund and improve HIV research, treatment and prevention programs. Let’s preserve access to no-cost preventive care, including PrEP, and invest in the community partners who are keeping people healthy, informed and alive. Let’s honor the 2030 deadline and finish what we started. 

George Arison is CEO of Grindr, the largest social network and connection app for the gay and bisexual community.