Deeper Look: Ending the HIV Epidemic

“Ending the Epidemic” (EtE) plans across the United States bring together coalitions of local stakeholders to establish shared goals and strategies for ending the HIV epidemic in a city, county, state, or other jurisdiction. EtE plans are tailored to the context, needs, and resources of a particular jurisdiction and tend to take a broad, holistic view of the drivers of the local HIV epidemic. The development of these plans is usually informed by extensive community consultation.

The national plan, Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America (EHE), is a ten-year federal initiative from the United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) with the goal of reducing new HIV infections to less than 3,000 per year by 2030. The initiative aims to reduce new HIV infections by 75% by 2025 and by at least 90% by 2030. The plan will focus on four key strategies:

• Diagnose all people with HIV as early as possible.
• Treat people with HIV rapidly and effectively to reach sustained viral suppression.
• Prevent new HIV transmissions by using proven interventions, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and syringe services programs (SSPs).
• Respond quickly to potential HIV outbreaks to get needed prevention and treatment services to people who need them.

The first phase of the plan will focus efforts and resources in 48 counties, plus San Juan, PR and Washington, DC, where more than half of all new HIV diagnoses occurred in 2016 and 2017, along with seven states (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina) with a substantial rural HIV burden.

AIDSVu’s analysis provides additional insights into where the initiative will be focused:

• Of the 48 highest burden counties targeted by the initiative, 48% are in the South.
• In 67% of the 48 target counties and DC, the percent of people living in poverty is higher than the national average.
• Most of the 48 target counties fall in states with a high unmet need for PrEP.