Earlier this year President Trump proposed $291 million in the FY2020 HHS budget to begin his Administration’s multi-year initiative focused on ending the HIV epidemic in America by 2030.
AIDS hasn’t been in the conversation as a current American crisis, which made the historic move even more shocking to many people. Trump has recently been blasted by the liberal media for comments that many feel are racist, despite his unprecedented effort to pass policies that target the most systematic issues facing the black community.
This reminds me of the President George W. Bush era, when many blacks including myself considered Bush a racist. As a young black man with aspirations to help change the world, I was also hypnotized by liberal media as well as Democratic politicians.
Following one of my medical mission trips to Africa in 2010, I was shamed by African world leaders who educated me about the effects of PETFAR. The President’s Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a United States governmental initiative founded by George W. Bush to address the global HIV/AIDS epidemic and help save the lives of those suffering from the disease.
This has been the most effective humanitarian aid policy ever to target blacks around the world, saving over 18 million lives and screening well over 50 million people. To this day I am embarrassed to think that I ever considered George W. Bush a racist. But then again, the liberal media is real.
Now a decade later we have another Republican President who has been crowned the king racist by liberals across America.
Despite his labels, President Trump used his first term to address the very disease that effects five times more blacks than whites per capita in America. President Trump’s new initiative aims to reduce new HIV infections by 75 percent in the next 5 years and by 90 percent in the next 10 years, averting more than 250,000 HIV infections in that span.
Recent data shows that our progress reducing the number of new HIV infections has plateaued, and there are new threats to the progress that has been made, the most significant being the opioid crisis: 1 in 10 new HIV infections occur among people who inject drugs. Unfortunately, one of the biggest reasons why reducing AIDS in America has hit a road block is due to the rapid growth of AIDS across black America.
As the LGBT community pursues the human rights they deserve, homosexuality is on super speed in the black community. The CDC recently reported that 50% of black gay men will contract HIV, which is chilling given the growing gay lifestyle promotion as a result of the Pride movement across American urban cities. Blacks make up 43% of those infected with HIV in America, despite only making up 12% of the population. This epidemic is real for Black America, though we don’t hear a word about it from black politicians representing the very communities in the heart of the crisis.
Fortunately our president has done his part to keep the spotlight on the fight to end HIV/AIDS, which has now reentered the conversation in the U.S. as of this year. President Donald Trump announced his ambitious plan to wipe out HIV transmission in America by 2030 and asked for an additional $291 million for his AIDS Program in his 2020 budget. Another solid example of tangible policies that President Trump continues to deliver for Black America. I was able to describe several of these polices in my recent article, “4 Ways Donald Trump has done more for African Americans than Barack Obama.” We can all agree that ending AIDS in America by 2030 is a bold and noble goal. Even if the president succeeds, stopping transmission is just one part of the puzzle. We also must help the 1.2 million Americans, over 500,000 who are black and currently living with the disease.
There just may be a very innovative healthcare solution recently developed by CytoDyn. The company is one of only a few firms to be given “fast track” approval from the FDA, meaning their new drug, Leronlimab (PRO 140) could be approved by the end of this year. Leronlimab is the first self-administered therapy for HIV that has reached late-stage clinical development. It’s a major game changer for those living with HIV, because unlike most current therapies, it doesn’t require any pills.
“We have patients who have gone 18 months without any pills,” says Dr. Nader Pourhassan, CytoDyn CEO. “Some patients had up to seven pills a day, they put all of it away, and we are very proud of those results.” Recent clinical trials have shown that Leronlimab does not negatively affect normal immune functions, but it does block the HIV co-receptor on T-cells. These trials also found that using Leronlimab can significantly reduce viral burden in people infected with HIV.
CytoDyn and Leronlimab have been garnering major buzz in the news, they’ve even been noticed by actor Charlie Sheen, who was recently diagnosed with HIV, and has applied to be a part of CytoDyn’s trials. With blacks representing nearly half of the Americans infected with HIV, I am reaching out to the company to ensure that they have an accurate representation of African Americans in their upcoming trial.
In 2017, Donald J. Trump signed the historic “Right to Try Legislation,” which amends federal law to allow certain unapproved, experimental drugs to be administered to terminally ill patients who have exhausted all approved treatment options and are unable to participate in clinical drug trials.
“People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure — I want to give them a chance right here at home,” said President Trump.
My goal is to take it a step further and push President Trump to ensure that all test trials equally include the populations who are effected the most. Starting with underserved Black America.
Jack Brewer possesses a unique combination of expertise in the fields of global economic development, sports, and finance through his roles as a successful entrepreneur, executive producer, news contributor, and humanitarian. Currently serving as the CEO and Portfolio Manager of The Brewer Group, Inc. as well as the Founder and Executive Director of The Jack Brewer Foundation (JBF Worldwide), active Shriner and Ambassador and National Spokesperson for the National Association of Police Athletic/ Activities Leagues, Inc. Other key roles include regular contributor to CNBC, Fox Business, and The American City Business Journals, Ambassador for Peace and Sport for the International Federation for Peace and Sustainable Development at the United Nations, Senior Advisor to former H.E. President Joyce Banda of the Republic of Malawi, and three time National Football League (NFL) Team Captain for the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
