ADAP Advocacy has unveiled a new interactive grassroots advocacy hub as part of its reactivated national campaign, ADAP Saves Lives: End the Wait. The move comes as waiting lists for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) have appeared in Iowa and Utah, now affecting more than 1,000 clients, while 15 other states confront budget deficits.
The hub, available at the organization's hub, is designed to equip patient advocates and community activists with resources and tools that combine traditional and digital organizing tactics. It features dedicated resource centers for individual states, each with information and messaging tailored to that state's ADAP situation. Each center includes 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 that are coming soon. Initially, resource centers are available for six states identified as at greatest risk for widespread access barriers: Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah. Additional states will be added on a rolling basis.
The launch underscores the precarious financial footing of ADAP. According to the National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors, federal appropriations account for a shrinking share of the national ADAP budget (NASTAD, 2026). In fiscal year 2024, federal funding represented 29 percent and state-level funding just 4 percent, with more than half of the program's budget attributed to drug rebates. That structure leaves the program exposed when rebate revenue or state contributions falter, and it helps explain why grassroots pressure at both the federal and state levels is considered critical.
Brandon M. Macsata, CEO of ADAP Advocacy, said the organization has spent recent months building state grassroots networks that proved vital during the last ADAP crisis from 2009 to 2013. He described the hub as a way to arm advocates with as many resources and tools as possible, combining old-school and new-age tactics.
Michelle Anderson, ADAP Advocacy's Grassroots Advocacy Director, said people living with HIV again have a fight on their hands centered on ensuring patients have access to timely, appropriate treatment. She said the hub puts those same patients at the center of the campaign and lets them tell their stories, creating space for organic, bottom-up advocacy.
For stakeholders interested in federal public policy centered on ADAPs, the organization directs them to its policy center. The implications extend beyond the newly affected states: with waiting lists already appearing and many states facing deficits, the hub is intended to help advocates press for resources before access barriers spread further.
