New HIV-AIDS strategy is needed for county
Nearly 30 years ago I entered the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors chamber with an urgent demand: People were dying, and we desperately needed funding for AIDS programs and services. Local government had been unresponsive to the emerging public health crisis.
As I walked into that chamber alongside Wiggsy Sivertsen, with whom I co-founded the LGBTQ rights organization BAYMEC, I was unsure of the reception we’d receive given the tense anti-gay, anti-AIDS climate that existed across the country.
In the end, the supervisors unanimously approved my proposal to fund AIDS education and support services. As part of that effort, the AIDS Prevention Task Force was created, and Board President Susie Wilson appointed me as its first chairman. I felt we were finally on the road to making HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment a priority.
Three decades later, on Tuesday, I again approached the Board of Supervisors for critical funding. We are now in a position to eradicate HIV once and for all, and it is imperative we seize the opportunity.
This paradigm shift has become possible because of recent medical breakthroughs and public health policies that have allowed us to imagine a “Getting to Zero” initiative.
The vote in favor was unanimous.
Getting to Zero promotes three main objectives: reaching zero new HIV infections, zero HIV-related deaths and zero stigma. A number of other jurisdictions have launched similar efforts with positive results. Given Santa Clara County’s long history of leadership and success with innovative public health initiatives, I am confident that these goals are within reach.
Today we have more tools available than ever before to treat and prevent HIV. We have effective medications with fewer side effects. New prevention methods, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), have proved highly effective at preventing HIV among individuals at a high risk for contracting the disease.
However, nearly 30 percent of people living with HIV in the county are not engaged in adequate medical care for their disease. Some do not know they are infected. Others don’t know about new treatments. These gaps in knowledge can mean the difference between life and death.
Getting to Zero will address this disparity by focusing heavily on education and awareness. It will educate providers and consumers about PrEP and PEP, promote frequent testing for vulnerable populations and work with local school districts on HIV information and prevention.
The county is already doing great work upon which this initiative will build. Santa Clara Valley Medical Center’s PACE Clinic follows the most up-todate testing and treatment available. Guidelines for the utilization of PrEP by primary-care clinicians are under development as well.
Getting to Zero will require coordination among many stakeholders to ensure that all HIV treatment providers are maximizing preventive benefits for their patients. Likewise, it will take a community-wide effort to guarantee that all HIV-positive individuals receive proper care.
Since that first day I approached the Board of Supervisors and demanded change, Santa Clara County has developed a 30-year record of leadership in responding to the HIV epidemic. HIV infections, HIV-related deaths, and stigma have decreased dramatically over this time.
When I bring my proposal before the board this week — no longer as a young activist, but a seasoned county supervisor — I looked to my peers with the same sense of urgency and purpose I felt 30 years ago.
We have made incredible progress in Santa Clara County, but our work is not done until HIV/AIDS is a thing of the past. Before another 30 years passes, I am confident we can make that goal a reality.