Fulton County (GA) Task Force on HIV/AIDS Announces New Phase in Strategy to End AIDS (2016)

This document outlines the recommendations for prevention strategies and delivery of care, and addresses social determinants of health related to HIV and AIDS in Atlanta and surrounding Fulton County.

The report focuses on four overall goals: reducing new HIV infections; increasing access to care and improving health outcomes for people living with HIV; reducing HIV-related disparities and health inequities; and achieving a more coordinated response to the epidemic. The Task Force also identified 10 priorities to achieve these goals.

In 2014, Fulton County HIV diagnoses topped 600 per year, about twice that of San Francisco. 413 of these diagnoses were gay and bisexual men. The Task Force is trying to resolve why the disease is so entrenched in Atlanta and the surrounding communities. The report cites Atlanta’s highest-in-the-nation rate of income inequality as a contributing factor. What’s more, of the 413, four out of five are black men, with nearly half of those less than 30 years old.

Emory School of Medicine and Rollins School of Public Health faculty played a significant role in the Fulton County Task Force on HIV/AIDS Phase II update: Objectives and Actions on "The Strategy to End AIDS in Fulton County."

The third phase of the strategy will include development of more specific plans with accountability and timelines for implementation. Overall, the strategy looks to be a guide for those working in HIV prevention and care and to adopt effective policy, implement programs and encourage collaboration to end the epidemic.