The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) has launched a new initiative aimed at stopping HIV transmission in Iowa. The state’s program is titled StopHIVIowa and is part of the national Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. program. According to the IDPH’s 2020 HIV surveillance report, which is most recent data available, new cases have continually decreased in the state since 2016, but more than 3,000 Iowans are living with HIV. Over the next four to five months, planners will be conferring with community members, social service agencies and medical providers for guidance on improving HIV services, including: prevention and diagnosis, behavioral health, associated stigmas and more. StopHIVIowa’s goal is to create a plan that will reduce total diagnoses by 75% by 2025 and by 90% in 2030. For Iowa, this means cutting annual new diagnoses to fewer than 10 per year by the end of the decade. For more information on the IDPH initiative, follow the links included below.
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www.stophiviowaplan.org
www.hiv.gov/federal-response/ending-the-hiv-epidemic/overview