"His advocacy was being reinvigorated in 2025 when confronted by alarming cuts to crucial funding that provided life-sustaining health benefits to his community and programs like PEPFAR, knowing these cuts threatened not only his health but the well-being of countless individuals relying on these vital resources. He felt compelled to rise again and raise his voice."
"Groups participating in AIDSWatch said the funeral illustrated the stakes at risk as a result of the Trump administration dismantling budgets for HIV and AIDs patients."
"A report by the United Nations AIDS agency said the withdrawal of US funding for the global HIV fight had caused a 'systemic shock', which could lead to more than four million AIDS-related deaths and six million new HIV infections by 2029."
Activists living with HIV organized a mock funeral protest at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel during AIDSWatch on March 16, 2025, to oppose Trump administration cuts to HIV funding. Participants, including a 65-year-old activist named Crisostomo, read their own eulogies from a makeshift pulpit to highlight the life-threatening impact of budget reductions to programs like PEPFAR. The protest was inspired by a living obituary from Kamaria Laffrey, a Black woman diagnosed with HIV in 2003. Health experts and UN AIDS agencies warn that US funding cuts could trigger a systemic shock, potentially causing over four million AIDS-related deaths and six million new HIV infections by 2029. Black LGBTQ+ leader Kelley Robinson also criticized these cuts during the State of the Union address.
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