PHOTO: On Tuesday, World AIDS Day, Mayor de Blasio and the City Council announced an ambitious new plan that aims to end the epidemic in NYC. Photo Courtesy of Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Unit
On Tuesday, World AIDS Day 2015, Mayor Bill de Blasio declared “It’s time to end the AIDS epidemic once and for all,” as he and the City Council unveiled an aggressive course of action aimed at eradicating the disease in the five boroughs, including $23 million in new prevention and health care programs, as well as expanded housing, nutrition, and transportation support for clients.
With this strategy, city leaders have set what they have characterized as “an ambitious but achievable goal” of bringing new HIV infections down in NYC to reach the statewide objective of no more than 750 per year by 2020.
In 2014, 2,718 city residents were newly diagnosed with HIV, a historical low representing a decrease of more than 35 percent from the 4,186 new cases in 2004, according to the Mayor’s Office.
“New York City is fully committed to ensuring the health and security of all our residents,” said Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. “Our comprehensive plan will drastically reduce new HIV infections and will provide expanded supportive services for all New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS.”
With 80 percent of the state’s HIV/AIDS patients living in the five boroughs, the Mayor’s Office said the city’s plan draws upon the recommendations of the state’s Ending the Epidemic Task Force report adopted earlier this year. It also relies on the Council’s End the Epidemic Initiative and the initial $6.6 million commitment for preventative medicine, training, and viral suppression funded by the city’s legislative body in the FY2016 Budget.
The NYC Plan to End the Epidemic combines enhanced medical and social services with biomedical innovation into a comprehensive strategy to reduce new infections, according to the Office of the Mayor. Additionally, the city is pledging to work with the state and other stakeholders to expand housing, nutrition, and transportation assistance (known as HASA For All), to decrease HIV transmission while supporting the health and well-being of those with HIV or AIDS.
“New York has a plan to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic—and now we’ve got to fund it,” said Councilman Corey Johnson (D-Manhattan), chairman of the Council Committee on Health and the only openly HIV positive elected official in New York. “We worked closely with the authors of the Ending the Epidemic blueprint to craft a strategic funding package that directly supports the plan. State and city cooperation is key to achieving the goal set out by Governor Cuomo: ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic in New York State by 2020. Every dollar of the Council’s $6.6 million contribution will bring us closer to achieving this goal. This $6.6 million dollars will fund a city-wide PrEP [pre-exposure prophylaxis—medication taken once daily every day to prevent HIV in people at risk of HIV] access network—making New York City one of the leaders nationally in funding PrEP to help combat new infections.”
De Blasio and the Council made the announcement just a couple of days after Forest Hills resident Victor Mooney, 49, arrived at the Brooklyn Navy Yard docks, fresh off a nearly two-year journey that saw him row solo across the Atlantic Ocean, from the Canary Islands to Vinegar Hill, in an effort to raise awareness for HIV/AIDS testing and honor two of his brothers: one who died of AIDS in 1983, and another who currently lives with the disease.
By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com
