ADAP Advocacy has launched an interactive grassroots advocacy hub as part of its reactivated national campaign, ADAP Saves Lives: End the Wait. The move comes as ADAP waiting lists have reappeared in Iowa and Utah, now affecting over 1,000 clients, and 15 other states face budget deficits. The new hub is designed to arm patient advocates and community activists with resources and tools to defend the AIDS Drug Assistance Program at both federal and state levels.
The timing underscores a deepening funding crisis. According to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, federal appropriations for ADAP account for a vanishingly small percentage of the national ADAP budget (NASTAD, 2026). In FY2024, federal funding accounted for 29%, and state-level funding for just 4%, with over half of the program's budget attributed to drug rebates. That structure leaves ADAP vulnerable to budget shortfalls and makes grassroots pressure essential when waiting lists emerge.
Brandon M. Macsata, CEO of ADAP Advocacy, stated: "ADAP Advocacy has spent the last few months building out its state grassroots networks, which were vital to the success of securing additional resources during the last ADAP crisis from 2009-2013. Our new grassroots advocacy hub is designed to arm patient advocates and community activists with as many resources and tools as possible, combining old-school and new-age tactics."
The hub has dedicated resource centers for individual states, with information, content, and messaging that reflect that state's ADAP situation. Each state's resource center features grassroots advocacy toolkits, social media advocacy toolkits, a search tool for members of Congress, "Take Action" communication tools such as emails and social shares, an event planning and calendar management platform, and public service announcements, which are coming soon. Initially, state resource centers are available for the six states ADAP Advocacy considers at greatest risk for widespread potential access barriers: Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. Additional states will be added on a rolling basis.
Michelle Anderson, ADAP Advocacy's Grassroots Advocacy Director, shared: "Yet again, people living with HIV have a fight on their hands, and this battle centers on ensuring patients have access to timely, appropriate treatment. What I'm most proud of about this new hub is how it puts those very same patients at the center of this advocacy campaign and lets them tell their stories. ADAP Advocacy is committed to creating an environment that promotes organic, bottom-up advocacy, and this new hub creates the space for that to happen."
The implications reach beyond the six initial states. With 15 other states facing budget deficits, the hub's resources could be expanded to additional states on a rolling basis, giving advocates a template for rapid response. ADAP stakeholders interested in federal public policy centered on ADAPs can visit the policy center for more information. The hub's emphasis on patient storytelling and bottom-up advocacy signals a strategy that treats those living with HIV as central voices in the fight to preserve access to care.
