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LGBT & HIV Advocates Respond to Governor Cuomo's Historic Declaration to End AIDS in New York
TODAY, Sunday, JUNE 29, 10:30AM
- Pre-NYC Gay Pride Parade Press Conference:
WHAT: PRESS CONFERENCE ON CUOMO PLAN TO END AIDS IN NYS BY 2020
WHO: Multiple AIDS community members, including representatives from HOUSING WORKS , TREATMENT ACTION GROUP ( TAG ), ACRIA , HARLEM UNITED , GMHC , VOCAL -NY & ACT UP
WHEN: SUNDAY , JUNE 29, 2014, 10:30AM
WHERE: 42nd Street at 5th Avenue in Manhattan, between 5th & 6th Avenues but closer to 5th
Advocates and members of the LGBT and AIDS communities applaud New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for his public declaration today to make
the end of the AIDS epidemic in New York by 2020 a State priority. Governor Cuomo's announcement reflects his recognition that the
landscapes of HIV and health care have changed: Although there are more New Yorkers living with HIV than in any other state in
the nation, it is finally within our reach to end the epidemic that has plagued us for more than 30 years. New York has the
people, institutions, resources, and tools needed to end AIDS as an epidemic by stopping new HIV infections as well as
AIDS -related deaths. Political commitment and leadership are the necessary, final ingredients to make ending AIDS in NYS a reality.
In June 2013, a remarkable coalition of over 30 New York organizations, among them LGBT and AIDS groups, asked Governor Cuomo to publicly
commit to an end to AIDS as an epidemic in New York by the year 2020 and to appoint a high-level State Task Force to develop a strategic
roadmap and plan. In doing so, New York State ( NYS ) will save hundreds of thousands of lives and serve as a national and global model
for ending the epidemic.
We have the science-from new prevention tools beyond condoms, like PrEP and nPEP, to testing technologies to highly effective
antiretroviral treatments that make an HIV + person virtually unable to transmit HIV to others. With these advances, we can end
AIDS as an epidemic even without a cure.
We also have momentum from Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) implementation and New York's successful Medicaid reform putting more people,
especially those at risk, into primary care and freeing up funds for support services vital to HIV treatment adherence. Add in
community support, social protections, such as the recent passage of an affordable housing protection for people living with
HIV , and deals with about 70% of HIV pharmaceutical makers to give the State discounts on HIV medications, and we can
indeed make the vision of an end of AIDS in New York turn into a reality. With the full force of the Governor's
leadership and a shared commitment with the government, we can take our current, effective strategies and bring them to scale.
In celebration of this historic commitment by Governor Cuomo, Housing Works and other organizational allies, including Treatment Action
Group ( TAG ), ACRIA , Harlem United, GMHC , VOCAL -NY, and ACT UP, are convening a joint press conference prior to the NYC Pride March
on Sunday, June 29, at 10:30AM on 42nd Street at 5th Avenue in Manhattan (between 5th and 6th Avenues but closer to 5th Avenue).
Please join us so we can share our reactions to the Governor's announcement of a State Plan to end AIDS by 2020.
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Contacts: Mika De Roo, Email: m.deroo@housingworks.org, Office: 347-473-7436; Cell: 347-585-6051 Terri Smith-Caronia,
Email: smith-caronia@housingworks.org, Office: 347-473-7418; Cell: 917-734-1808
Source: http://www.housingworks.org/news-press/detail/18109/
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