the National Institutes of Health (NIH) office responsible for issuing federal guidelines related to treatment of HIV and AIDS patients in the United States intends to phase them out by next year.

The NIH Office of AIDS Research or OAR informed its employees this week of its intention to phase out the guidelines by next June, according to The Washington post,which cited an internal staff email.

According to the office, OAR “coordinates HIV/AIDS research across the National Institutes of Health and provides the largest public investment in HIV/AIDS research globally.”

“In the climate of budget decreases and revised priorities, OAR is beginning to explore options to transfer management of the guidelines to another agency within NIH,” the letter obtained by The Post reads.

The OAR guidelines include recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of HIV and AIDS.

Currently, there are more than 1 million people living with HIV in the United States.

It remains unclear which other agency was referenced in the letter and how this transition might impact the guidelines, The Post noted.

This proclamation coincides with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio‘s plan to cut over $8 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development, USAID, and incorporate it into the State Department.

State Department officials stated that this decision anticipates increased aid contributions from other countries worldwide.

Global Impact of Potential Funding Cuts

“Yeztugo is one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs of our time and offers a very real opportunity to help end the HIV epidemic.”

An April