Posted by Elizabeth Koke
September 15, 2016
September 15, 2016
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For Immediate Release, September 15, 2016
On Thursday, September 15th, at 11:00am, during a press conference at the United States Conference on AIDS, 19 organizations from around the country officially announced their formation of the ACT NOW: END AIDS Coalition and launched their combined efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States.
During the conference, coalition co-chairs Dazon Dixon Diallo of SisterLove (Atlanta, GA) and Charles King of Housing Works (New York, NY), shared the coalition’s vision for moving forward an agenda to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. “We have come together, in all our diversities, because we believe an end to the AIDS epidemic in the United States is within our reach. It is imperative that we share our resources and experiences and support with each other in order to make this a reality for everyone,” said Dixon Diallo. Other speakers included DeAnn Gruber, Board Chair of NASTAD, Venita Ray from Legacy Community Health, Houston, and Alex Smith, Director of Policy and Advocacy for AIDS Alabama.
The formation of this national coalition is an exciting and historic development in the fight to end AIDS in the United States. In 2016, we have the tools and knowledge to end the epidemic, even without a cure, by expanding testing services, linking those living with HIV to treatment, expanding access to prevention options like PrEP and PEP, and working to address the social drivers of HIV such as homelessness and stigma. “In New York State we have made tremendous strides, setting the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic in New York by 2020. We want build on that momentum, facilitating partnerships and offering technical support for other advocates throughout the country to do the same in their own jurisdictions,” said ACT NOW co-chair Charles King. In 2014, New York State committed to be the first jurisdiction to end AIDS as an epidemic by the year 2020, followed by San Francisco, which committed to getting to zero new HIV infections by the year 2030. Several other jurisdictions throughout the country including Washington, Colorado, Fulton County, and Pittsburgh have made similar commitments.
ACT NOW: END AIDS is comprised of organizations and leaders who have been working on HIV/AIDS research, services, and advocacy since the height of the epidemic in the 1990s. This coalition will work together to provide technical assistance to individuals and organizations nationwide who are doing work on the city, state, and regional level to address the specific needs of their communities in terms of policy, budget, outreach, and education. The ACT NOW coalition will also help facilitate relationships with health departments to share the data necessary to set and achieve benchmarks to ending the epidemic.
During USCA, on Saturday, September 17th, the ACT NOW Coalition will conduct an all-day fishbowl-style learning collaborative in which those working in jurisdictions to end AIDS as an epidemic will share best practices, goals, and challenges with each other and with representatives from cities, counties, and states that have yet to make a commitment to ending the epidemic by a certain date.
ACT NOW coalition members include: Treatment Action Group, Housing Works, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York AIDS Institute, AIDS United, Black AIDS Institute, 30 for 30, NASTAD, AIDS Alabama, Latino Commission on AIDS, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, NMAC, Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Southern AIDS Coalition, AIDS Free Pittsburgh, Sister Love, Getting to Zero Massachusetts, END AIDS Dallas, Legacy Community Health.
On Thursday, September 15th, at 11:00am, during a press conference at the United States Conference on AIDS, 19 organizations from around the country officially announced their formation of the ACT NOW: END AIDS Coalition and launched their combined efforts to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States.
During the conference, coalition co-chairs Dazon Dixon Diallo of SisterLove (Atlanta, GA) and Charles King of Housing Works (New York, NY), shared the coalition’s vision for moving forward an agenda to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States. “We have come together, in all our diversities, because we believe an end to the AIDS epidemic in the United States is within our reach. It is imperative that we share our resources and experiences and support with each other in order to make this a reality for everyone,” said Dixon Diallo. Other speakers included DeAnn Gruber, Board Chair of NASTAD, Venita Ray from Legacy Community Health, Houston, and Alex Smith, Director of Policy and Advocacy for AIDS Alabama.
The formation of this national coalition is an exciting and historic development in the fight to end AIDS in the United States. In 2016, we have the tools and knowledge to end the epidemic, even without a cure, by expanding testing services, linking those living with HIV to treatment, expanding access to prevention options like PrEP and PEP, and working to address the social drivers of HIV such as homelessness and stigma. “In New York State we have made tremendous strides, setting the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic in New York by 2020. We want build on that momentum, facilitating partnerships and offering technical support for other advocates throughout the country to do the same in their own jurisdictions,” said ACT NOW co-chair Charles King. In 2014, New York State committed to be the first jurisdiction to end AIDS as an epidemic by the year 2020, followed by San Francisco, which committed to getting to zero new HIV infections by the year 2030. Several other jurisdictions throughout the country including Washington, Colorado, Fulton County, and Pittsburgh have made similar commitments.
ACT NOW: END AIDS is comprised of organizations and leaders who have been working on HIV/AIDS research, services, and advocacy since the height of the epidemic in the 1990s. This coalition will work together to provide technical assistance to individuals and organizations nationwide who are doing work on the city, state, and regional level to address the specific needs of their communities in terms of policy, budget, outreach, and education. The ACT NOW coalition will also help facilitate relationships with health departments to share the data necessary to set and achieve benchmarks to ending the epidemic.
During USCA, on Saturday, September 17th, the ACT NOW Coalition will conduct an all-day fishbowl-style learning collaborative in which those working in jurisdictions to end AIDS as an epidemic will share best practices, goals, and challenges with each other and with representatives from cities, counties, and states that have yet to make a commitment to ending the epidemic by a certain date.
ACT NOW coalition members include: Treatment Action Group, Housing Works, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), New York AIDS Institute, AIDS United, Black AIDS Institute, 30 for 30, NASTAD, AIDS Alabama, Latino Commission on AIDS, San Francisco AIDS Foundation, NMAC, Southern HIV/AIDS Strategy Initiative, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Southern AIDS Coalition, AIDS Free Pittsburgh, Sister Love, Getting to Zero Massachusetts, END AIDS Dallas, Legacy Community Health.
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Housing Works Applauds Secretary Hillary Clinton’s Commitment to End the Epidemic
August 3, 2016
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Contacts: Mikola De Roo, Housing Works, 347-585-6051,
m.deroo@housingworks.org; Hilary McQuie, HealthGap, hilary@healthgap.org
202-629-7222
Just last week, the Democratic National Convention (DNC) made history by featuring Atlanta-based activist Daniel Driffin, the first HIV-positive speaker to address the convention in over a decade. And on August 2, the Clinton Campaign announced Secretary Clinton would build upon her HIV/AIDS agenda by convening an “End the Epidemic” working group to adopt aggressive and attainable timelines for ending AIDS as an epidemic in the United States and globally, working to fully implement and strengthen the National HIV/AIDS Strategy to meet these timelines, and by launching a campaign to end the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS. These commitments, as well as that of having an HIV positive speaker at the DNC, are the outcome of policy recommendations made by this coalition during meetings with the Clinton campaign over the past two months—a preliminary May meeting with Secretary Clinton and a June follow-up meeting with key Clinton policy staff.
These additions are critical steps toward ending the domestic AIDS epidemic and build on Secretary Clinton’s existing HIV/AIDS platform, which includes expanding affordable care, lowering the cost of prescription drugs, and removing disparities and barriers to accessing care. The coalition expresses deep gratitude for these significant steps that represent real progress and looks forward to continuing to build on this momentum with Secretary Clinton and her campaign in the months to come.
Secretary Clinton also has long been dedicated to and involved in the global effort to fight HIV/AIDS. At the International AIDS Conference in South Africa last week, however, we heard that global funding of HIV/AIDS has dropped by over $1 billion, thus seriously threatening the possibility of ending AIDS globally by the year 2030. The United States has always been a leader and a model for other nations when it comes to milestones and progress on HIV/AIDS during the four decades this epidemic has plagued the globe. Clearly, an increase in the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is needed now more than ever to reverse this trend and fulfill our commitment to universal access to HIV treatment and care.
While Secretary Clinton has voiced a commitment to the global fight against HIV/AIDS, it is also crucial for her to model that leadership for other nations by committing a specific dollar amount to PEPFAR. This coalition continues to urge Secretary Clinton to support the same funding proposal presented to her by the group in May, by increasing funding to the global PEPFAR program by at least $2 billion per year by 2020. That level of commitment would double the number of people on treatment as part of leading a global plan to treat over 30 million people by 2020 and would provide additional funding for an initiative to address poverty and inequality, the social and economic drivers of HIV.
By committing to using U.S. power, visibility, and political will to leverage more donor funds, Secretary Clinton will be underscoring the United States’ position as an international leader and a model for other nations to follow. We encourage her to demonstrate leadership on this global issue now, as a clear statement that under her command the U.S. will not back away from its commitments and that we will lead the world toward ensuring the end of AIDS by 2030. Should she be elected, we look forward to working with Secretary Clinton and her administration to implement and expand to secure necessary funding, and to set a timeline and targets to achieve an AIDS-free generation.
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The Ad Hoc National Coalition to End the AIDS Epidemic:
Jose Abrigo, Staff Attorney, LGBTQ/HIV Advocacy Project, Queens Legal Services ACRIA ACT UP New York
African Services Committee AIDS Action Baltimore AIDS Alabama AIDS Foundation of Chicago AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta
Albany Damien Center
Amida Care AVAC
Bailey House
John Barry, LMSW, Executive Director, Southern Tier AIDS Program BOOM! Health
Rebecca Botting
Bronx Parent Housing Network
Reginald T. Brown, M. Ed., Unity Fellowship of Christ Church, VOCAL-NY Community Leader
Central New York HIV Care Network
Coalition for Homeless Youth
JD Davids, TheBody.com
Sharen I. Duke, Executive Director and CEO, AIDS Service Center NYC (ASCNYC)
End AIDS Now
Sergio Farfan, Louisiana Latino Health Coalition for HIV/AIDS
Ingrid Floyd, Executive Director, Iris House
Miasha Forbes, Human Rights Activist and Founder, Just for Us: Gender Diversity Project GMHC
Health GAP
Health People
Hispanic Health Network HIV Prevention Justice Alliance
Housing Works
Brian Hujdich, Pozitively Health Coalition
Human Rights Campaign
Hyacinth AIDS Foundation
Carine Jocelyn, CEO, Diaspora Community Services, Brooklyn, NY
Marsha Jones, the Afiya Center
Howard Josepher, LCSW, President & CEO, Exponents
Jacquelyn Kilmer, CEO, Harlem United
Lambda Independent Democrats of Brooklyn
Latino Commission on AIDS
Latinos in the Deep South
Legacy Community Health LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York
Matthew McMorrow, former Director of Government Affairs, Empire State Pride Agenda
David Ernesto Munar, CEO, Howard Brown Health
National Black Justice Coalition
National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS NMAC (formerly known as the National Minority AIDS Council) OASIS-Latino LGBTS Wellness Center
Chuck Peterson, Executive Director, Clare Housing, Minneapolis, MN
Positively Trans Advisory Board of Transgender Law Center
Michael Emanuel Rajner, Wilton Manors, FL
Kyle Rapinon, Esq., Director of Survival and Self-Determination, Sylvia Rivera Law Project
Elana Redfield, Attorney and LGBTQI Activist
Dr. Margaret S. Reneau, Director of Programs, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
Bamby Salcedo, TransLatin@ Coalition
Eric Sawyer, Founding Member—ACT UP, Co-Founder Housing Works, Inc. & Health GAP, Inc.
Virginia Shubert, Shubert Botein Policy Associates
SisterLove Inc.
Southern Tier AIDS Program
Peter Staley
Rev. Moonhawk River Stone, M.S., LMHC, RiverStone Consulting, Schenectady, NY
Daniel W. Tietz, Chief Special Services Officer, NYC Human Resources Administration/Department of Social Services
Treatment Action Group
Trillium Health/Rochester
Peter Twyman, CEO, Keep a Child Alive
Andrew Velez, ACT UP New York
VillageCare
Tom Viola, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS VOCAL New York
Washington Heights CORNER Project
David W. Webber, Attorney
John Wikiera, Central NY HIV Care Network
Terri L. Wilder, MSW
Doug Wirth, President/CEO, Amida Care
Young Black Gay Leadership Initiative (YBGLI)
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August 3, 2016
Contacts: Mikola De Roo, 347-585-6051, m.deroo@housingworks.org Elizabeth Koke, 347-473-7459, e.koke@housingworks.org
Contacts: Mikola De Roo, 347-585-6051, m.deroo@housingworks.org Elizabeth Koke, 347-473-7459, e.koke@housingworks.org
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Housing Works applauds Secretary Hillary Clinton for building upon her call for an “AIDS free generation” by pledging to set and meet concrete goals and a timeline to end the AIDS epidemic in the United States, and then globally, by reducing new infections and ending AIDS deaths.
On Tuesday, August 2, the Clinton Campaign announced that Secretary Clinton would act quickly if elected to convene an “End the Epidemic” working group to adopt aggressive and attainable timelines to end the U.S. AIDS epidemic and to increase American support to meet global HIV treatment and prevention goals. In a policy statement, her campaign set out a vision to not only fully implement the current U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy but to strengthen federal action to transform the current HIV strategy into a concrete plan to end our U.S. AIDS epidemic and to end the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV and AIDS.
The policy statement outlines a commitment to expand Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act to meet the needs of people with AIDS in all parts of the country, lower the cost of prescription drugs, remove barriers such as housing instability that limit the ability to benefit from HIV care, and reform federal and state laws that criminalize HIV infection.
“As New Yorkers and longtime AIDS activists, we mark this as an historic moment. Under the great leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo and with the full support of Mayor Bill de Blasio, New York State became the first jurisdiction in the world to set out feasible, detailed plans to end AIDS as an epidemic in New York City and State by the year 2020. “New York paved the way for Secretary Clinton’s bold national HIV/AIDS platform,” said Charles King, President and CEO of Housing Works and community co-chair of Governor Cuomo’s Ending the Epidemic Task Force. “New York is leading by example and showing the country and the world that an end to the AIDS epidemic is within our reach. And we are grateful and pleased that Secretary Clinton has stepped up and heeded that call to action by bringing the same boldness and vision to the national stage. We look forward to continued work with Secretary Clinton and her Campaign to build on this incredible momentum in the coming months. Together, we can and will end AIDS as an epidemic nationwide.”
Read more articles from Campaign to End AIDS, here.
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