SAVE HIV FUNDING CAMPAIGN UNVEILS #CUTSKILL QUILT IN ATLANTA AS NATIONAL OUTCRY OVER HIV FUNDING CRISIS GROWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ATLANTA, GEORGIA – MONDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2025 — Yesterday, the #SaveHIVFunding campaign unveiled the #CutsKill Quilt in Atlanta, as a powerful visual call to action, reminding policymakers and the public that cuts to HIV programs cost lives. The installation, assembled by community advocates around the world, including health care providers and people living with HIV, served as a continuation of a national response to the ongoing HIV funding crisis threatening decades of progress in prevention, treatment, research, and innovation.
Hosted within the halls of this year’s IDWeek conference in Atlanta, Georgia organized in partnership with conference cosponsor the HIV Medicine Association, the activation drew hundreds of attendees from the public health community alongside national advocates and community leaders.
Speakers included:
- Dr. Demetre Daskalakis: former Director of the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention and a longtime leader in public health, and former director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (NCIRD);
- Javier Muñoz: actor, activist, and Hamilton star who has lived openly with HIV since 2005;
- Colleen Kelley: MD, MPH, Chair of the HIV Medicine Association (HIVMA).
- Antoinette Jones-Knowles: National Field Organizer for the Positive Women’s Network and co-founder of Dandelions Inc., the first national movement dedicated to people born with HIV;
- Jeremiah Johnson: Executive Director of PrEP4All, Save HIV Funding campaign co-founder, and a leading national advocate for HIV prevention and policy reform;
- Kamaria Laffrey: Co-Executive Director of The SERO Project and a member of the U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus;
- Daniel Driffin: co-founder of THRIVE SS, a Georgia-based network supporting the health and leadership of Black gay and bisexual men living with HIV;
- The event was emceed by long-time PrEP advocate and Save HIV Funding Campaign Manager, Maxx Boykin.
KEY QUOTES & SOUND
“A budget is a moral document; It tells you what you value,” said Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, former Director of the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention. “If you choose immoral priorities, people will die. The success of America’s HIV response has always been bipartisan — from Ryan White to PEPFAR — and that legacy is now being sabotaged. Your legacy should not be death. It should be life, health, and victory over HIV.”
“Without access to my medication and my care, I would die — and I’m not alone,” said Javier Muñoz, actor, activist, and star of Hamilton. “These proposed cuts aren’t numbers on a spreadsheet. They are death sentences for real people. I am here today because federal programs kept me alive when I couldn’t afford care. Every person living with or vulnerable to HIV deserves that same chance to live.”
“Saving HIV funding isn’t about charity, it’s about justice,” said Antoinette Jones-Knowles, National Field Organizer for Positive Women’s Network and co-founder of Dandelions Inc. “When HIV funding is cut, Black and Brown people like me will die. Trans women will die. Mothers will die. Funding HIV programs means funding dignity, survival, and freedom.”
Speakers at the quilt unveiling urged lawmakers to pass a full budget that sustains vital funding for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, community clinics, CDC prevention programs that provide testing and PrEP, and research pipelines. The #CutsKill Quilt was described as both a memorial and a warning; a testament to community resilience and a reminder of what’s at stake when HIV funding is slashed.
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Download Photos, credit: Kelly Price Photography
Save HIV Funding Media Resource Kit:
THE #CUTSKILL QUILT
Inspired by the AIDS Memorial Quilt of the 1980s, the #CutsKill Quilt was designed and created by community members and HIV service providers from across the country and around the world, and honors lives lost while warning of the devastating impact that billions in proposed federal cuts would have on HIV prevention, treatment, housing, and care. Each panel of the #CutsKill Quilt represents programs, services, and communities currently at risk if funding is gutted.
First unveiled in Washington last month, coinciding with the U.S. Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA), the quilt sent a clear message: #CutsKill. And Congress must act now to reject the House’s FY26 proposal, which would devastate access to care and erase decades of progress in the fight to end the HIV epidemic.
With even more panels added since the September debut, the #CutsKill Quilt will make its next stop and unveiling in Atlanta this weekend. Please reach out for more details on location and how you can be part of the activation or cover as press.
Those who would like to submit a Digital quilt to the campaign, may do so here:
HIV FUNDING FAST FACTS:
- Federal HIV programs have more than 35 years of bipartisan support: In 2003, President George W. Bush created PEPFAR (the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief), which has saved 25 million lives worldwide. Domestically, Bush signed reauthorizations of the Ryan White CARE Act, expanding federal support for HIV care. Protecting HIV funding has historically been a bipartisan commitment to public health and stability.
- Federal HIV programs are cost-effective: Every $1 invested in HIV prevention saves the health care system $3 to $7 in future treatment costs. Cuts would increase long-term spending.
- Medicaid is the largest source of coverage for people with HIV in the U.S., covering roughly 40% of people living with HIV. Medicaid expansion has been associated with a 33% increase in PrEP prescriptions. Cuts to HIV funding would have ripple effects across the entire Medicaid system, limiting access to care for millions of low-income Americans.
- HIV care is part of the U.S. health care system: Federal HIV funding supports access to preventive care, primary care, mental health services, housing, and medications. Cutting these funds would destabilize programs millions of Americans depend on — including those living with chronic conditions, low-income families, and uninsured people.
- Over 1.2 million Americans are living with HIV, and over 500,000 rely on federal programs like the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program for lifesaving medication and care.
- HIV prevention funding protects everyone: The federal government funds access to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), a daily medication that reduces the vulnerability of HIV by 99%. Rolling back funding would increase new HIV cases and long-term costs to the health care system.
- HIV funding is about more than one disease: These programs create a blueprint for coordinated, federally funded responses to health crises — from the opioid epidemic to COVID-19. Gutting HIV funding would weaken America’s preparedness for future public health threats.
- HIV funding protects vulnerable communities: Black and Latine communities account for more than 65% of new HIV diagnoses. Protecting these funds is about protecting racial and health equity.
Press Contact:
Tony Morrison
About the Save HIV Funding Campaign:
Launched in 2023 by PrEP4All, AVAC, and the HIV Medicine Association in partnership with the Federal AIDS Policy Partnership, the Save HIV Funding campaign is supported by over 150 national and local organizations. The campaign began in response to proposed Congressional cuts to federal HIV programs and successfully helped avert $1.5 billion in domestic HIV funding cuts.
In early 2025, the campaign expanded in response to the Trump Administration’s escalating efforts to dismantle essential HIV services and infrastructure. Today, Save HIV Funding continues to mobilize advocates, patients, healthcare providers, and public figures to ensure access to lifesaving care for everyone impacted by HIV.
