World AIDS Day 2016

 “Hands up for #HIVprevention” speaks to the ongoing need to be vigilant in the face of the challenge HIV/AIDS presents. This year’s World AIDS Day theme also reminds us that as we honor the memory of the family, friends, and neighbors who have passed, we must recommit to support treatment and prevention.

New York City’s Health Department recently reported on the progress and the significant challenge that remains. They reported that for the first time since they began keeping records,  there were no newborn, mother-to-child transmissions of HIV in 2015. They also found that HIV diagnoses reached a record low, with the lowest number of new HIV cases in more than three decades. The ongoing challenge remains though, with 2,500 new diagnoses made in 2015 and with African-Americans and Latinos making up nearly 80% of those newly diagnosed.

We need to remain steadfast in our efforts – here in Brooklyn, across New York State, and globally – to keep people healthy and cease the spread of HIV/AIDS.