Dear Faith Leader:
In October 2014, Governor Cuomo unveiled his three-point plan to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State by the end of 2020. A Task Force was established to develop and synthesize recommendations, which are presented in New York’s Blueprint to “End the Epidemic.” The recommendations focus on New York State’s highly successful existing HIV prevention and care efforts to identify undiagnosed persons; link and retain infected individuals in care; and utilize biomedical interventions such as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent infections among persons who engage in high-risk behaviors to keep them HIV negative, while addressing stigma and discrimination to reduce associated health disparities.
The Task Force was made up of key stakeholders representing public and private industry, community leaders, and faith leaders, who are expert in the field of HIV/AIDS. The Ending the Epidemic (ETE) Blueprint was publicly released on April 29, 2015. Key Actions are underway to implement the ETE Blueprint recommendations across the state. Recommendations included in the ETE Blueprint are intended to evolve with new technologies and significant policy advances so the document can remain useful and relevant.
The AIDS Advisory Council (AAC) Ending the Epidemic Subcommittee is currently seeking implementation strategies in support of the Blueprint recommendations. The AAC ETE Subcommittee ensures the ongoing formal involvement of the AAC in follow-up on the implementation of the Ending the Epidemic Task Force (ETE TF) recommendations. The intention is to provide a formal opportunity once a year for individuals to submit implementation strategies to the AAC ETE Subcommittee for consideration. Recommended strategies can also be brought to the AAC ETE Subcommittee meetings. In addition, ETE subcommittees are working together to develop plans for each region of the state.
Faith leaders are an important prevention and access to care partner, and can play a significant role in the implementation of the ETE Blueprint recommendations. Your contribution and ongoing support is essential in achieving our goal to “Ending the Epidemic.”
Please complete the survey to the best of your ability. Click on the link below to get started.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/faithleaderssurvey
This survey will remain open until December 19, 2016.
Thank you in advance for your submission(s).
Carol Tyrell
Coordinator
Faith Communities Project
Division of HIV/STI/HCV Prevention
AIDS Institute, NYSDOH
Corning Tower, ESP, Room 308
Albany, NY 12237
518-473-2300 – phone
518-486-6888 – fax
