Miss. Dept. of Health says oversight lapses in HIV program grants are unacceptable

• MSDH responded to a State Auditor report released Monday showing prevention funds were used on a “Queerceanara,” “diva brunches” and more.

The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) agreed with a State Auditor’s report that revealed lapses in oversight of certain grants related to HIV/AIDS prevention, calling them “unacceptable and not reflective of our agency’s standards or mission.”

State Auditor Shad White said Monday that taxpayer funds were spent on a “Queerceanara,” which was described as a “Latinx pride month event that highlights LGBTQ Latinx and Indigenous community members,” beer, “diva brunches,” and other expenses by three nonprofit organizations receiving government grants from MSDH.

The nonprofits highlighted by the Auditor are the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE), Love Inside for Everyone (LIFE, Inc), and Love Me Unlimited 4 Life.

White said MSDH gave the three nonprofits more than $853,000 between 2020 and 2025. During that time, those nonprofits administered only 35 HIV tests.

Instead, according to White, funds were spent on hosting a “Queerceanera” ($17,380.19), “diva brunches” ($4,000), and a Gay Pride Weekend in Jackson, as well as on salaries with a requirement to hire people who identify “as Gender Non-Conformant (GNC), Aged 17-34 that are People with HIV (PWH), members of the LGBTQIA community, and/or at risk for acquiring HIV” ($140,000).

“It’s almost like our government hates us,” said Auditor White. “This kind of spending defies all common sense and is an insult to hardworking taxpayers.”

After the Auditor’s release, MSDH said that even prior to the report, the agency had taken “decisive action to strengthen oversight and accountability,” including implementing a leadership overhaul in the affected program nearly a year ago and launching a comprehensive agency-wide reform to modernize and tighten its grants management and compliance processes.

“Since I was appointed State Health Officer, we have been actively working on improvements to create a culture of compliance while identifying inefficiencies and areas of risk to improve how MSDH serves the public,” said Dr. Daniel Edney, the State Health Officer. “As part of this effort, we have strengthened our infrastructure to support grants management with clear deliverables, accountability and comprehensive oversight across both federal and state programs.”

MSDH noted that none of the nonprofits cited in the Auditor’s report currently have active grants or contracts with the agency to continue these activities. 

“It is important to underscore that these findings do not reflect the value of many nonprofit partners we continue to work with across Mississippi. Partnerships remain critical to our public health mission,” MSDH stated late Monday. “Our Internal Audit division will continue to partner with the Office of the State Auditor. We are using this moment as a catalyst to implement meaningful improvements in how we operate. We appreciate the Auditor’s attention to this matter and are fully committed to ensuring rigorous oversight of public health funds.”