Ryan White Program

Ryan White courageously fought AIDS-related discrimination and helped educate the Nation about HIV/AIDS.

Ryan White was diagnosed with AIDS at age 13. He and his mother Jeanne White Ginder fought for his right to attend school, gaining international attention as a voice of reason about HIV/AIDS. At the age of 18, Ryan White died on April 8, 1990, just months before Congress passed the AIDS bill that bears his name – the Ryan White CARE (Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency) Act. The legislation has been reauthorized four times since – in 1996, 2000, 2006, and 2009 – and is now called the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Treatment Extension Act of 2009.

The Ryan White Program works with cities, states, and local community-based organization to provide HIV-related services to more than half a million people each year. The program is for those who do not have sufficient health care coverage or financial resources for coping with HIV disease. Ryan White fills gaps in care not covered by these other sources.

The Ryan White Program was established in Hillsborough County in December 1992 to address the need for HIV/AIDS-related services among the economically disadvantaged and underserved residents of our community. It is a regional program, providing services to qualified residents who are HIV positive, and covers an eight county service area of west-central Florida.