COVER
DESERT AIDS PROJECT LOOKS TOWARD THE FUTURE INNOVATION AND COMMITMENT BY JACK BUNTING
In our work to address the health needs of the most vulnerable in our community, including our core focus on those affected by the HIV epidemic, we had believed for some time that the need for services was greater than the statistics illustrated. In November, Riverside County health officials released new data indicating that a staggering 51 percent more people are living with HIV/AIDS in the county than had been previously reported. The increase was due to a change in the way state health officials collect data on those living with HIV/AIDS, and does not mean there has been a spike in the frequency of the illness, a fivepage report states. The largest increase is within the eastern portion of the county, which includes Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. Previously, there were 3,252 cases reported for 2016 (the latest figure available) compared to 5,522 in the new calculations for the same period. The numbers changed because public health officials previously could only track the number of people with HIV where they received a diagnosis. The new data analysis includes the movement of people with HIV in and out of Riverside County. The state and county are taking a more thorough approach to measure the number of individuals living with HIV/AIDS here, which is necessary to thwart the spread of the epidemic. While we still do not have a cure or a vaccine, we do have testing and treatment. A GOAL TO END HIV This is why we have adopted the same set of goals that UNAIDS announced in 2017. • By 2020, 90 percent of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status. • By 2020, 90 percent of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy.
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• By 2020, 90 percent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy will have viral suppression. A key piece of the 90-90-90 strategy is ensuring that people with HIV/AIDS have access to care and they remain in treatment and stay healthy, so that the virus is suppressed to levels so low that the virus cannot be passed on to others. Better measurement of how many people need services locally means we can deliver more effectively on this promise we made to the community. While condoms and HIV testing continue to be critical to our goal of ending new HIV infections, we now have additional evidence-based strategies that will play equally crucial roles. These include: • Pre Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP): this one pill a day medication, when taken by an HIV-negative person, will prevent her / him from becoming infected with HIV. Our STD clinic, The Dock is prescribing PrEP and all persons we test for HIV who have any risk are educated about PrEP and linked with our counselors. We launched a targeted media campaign to increase awareness of PrEP among the populations at higher risk for HIV. We are moving to implement same day PrEP so we can prevent new infections quickly. • Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP): When taken for 30 days after a risky encounter, PEP can prevent HIV infection, but treatment must start within 72 hours. D.A.P.’s walk-in clinic, The Dock, now provides access to PEP. • Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U): Recently released research proves that HIV-positive individuals who are on HIV treatment and have so little virus in their blood that current tests cannot detect it (called undetectable), are not able to transit HIV. This means our work to link newly diagnosed individuals quickly to HIV care is a critical strategy to end the HIV epidemic.