Title
Dept/ Agency: Offices of Municipal Council/City Clerk
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Supporting the goals of World AIDS Day
Purpose: Commemorating World AIDS Day
Sponsor(s): Council Vice-President, LaMonica R. McIver
Additional Information: 2021 marks the 40th Anniversary of the HIV epidemic.
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WHEREAS, the Municipal Council of the City of Newark recognize that HIV, the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), is one of the world’s most serious health and development challenges. Approximately 38 million people are currently living with HIV, including 1,800,000 children and tens of millions of people have died of AIDs-related causes since the beginning of the epidemic; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals established a global target to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was launched in 2002, and, as of 2020, has helped provide antiretroviral therapy to approximately 21,900,000 people living with HIV/AIDS - an 8.8% increase compared to 2019 despite COVID-19 and to 729,000 pregnant women to prevent the transmission of HIV/AIDS to their children, saving an estimated 32,000,000 lives; and
WHEREAS, the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program remains the largest commitment in history by any country to combat a single disease to date. Its funding has totaled more than $100 billion, including funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), to which the U.S. Government is the largest donor. PEPFAR is credited with savings millions of lives and helping to change the trajectory of the global HIV epidemic; and
WHEREAS, as of 2020, PEPFAR has supported testing services for nearly 50 million people, including prevented 2.8 million babies from being born with HIV, who would have otherwise been infected; provided care for more than 6.7 million orphans and vulnerable children (OVC); supported training for nearly 290,000 new health care workers; and supported antiretroviral treatment for nearly 18.2 million people; and
WHEREAS, considerable progress has been made in the fight against HIV/AIDS, including a 16-percent reduction in new HIV infections, a 53-percent reduction in new HIV infections among children, and AIDS-related deaths have been reduced by 64% since the peak in 2004 and by 47% since 2010; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that, without treatment, ½ of all infants living with HIV will die before their second birthday; and
WHEREAS, despite the remarkable progress in combatting HIV/AIDS, significant challenges remain; and
WHEREAS, there were approximately 1,500,000 new HIV infections in 2020, structural barriers continue to make testing and treatment programs inaccessible to highly vulnerable populations, and an estimated 8,100,000 people living with HIV globally still do not know their HIV status; and
WHEREAS, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates in 2019, 36,801 people received an HIV diagnosis in the United States. The annual number of new diagnoses decreased 9% from 2015 to 2019. About 15 percent of the 1,100,000 people in the United States living with HIV are not aware of their HIV status; and
WHEREAS, in the United States, more than 700,000 people with AIDS have died since the beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including 15,815 deaths among people with AIDS have died since the beginning of the HIV/AIDs epidemic, including 15,815 deaths among people with diagnosed HIV in 2019, with the disease disproportionately affecting minority communities; and
WHEREAS, December 1st of each year is internationally recognized as “World AIDS Day”; and
WHEREAS, in 2021, this year marks the 40th Anniversary of the HIV epidemic and though there has been significant progress in treatment and prevention modalities, there is still more work to be done.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council does hereby support the goals and ideals of World AIDS Day, including the goal to achieve zero new HIV infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.
2. The Municipal Council does hereby support the efforts and achievement sin combatting HIV/AIDS made by PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and Malaria and the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS.
3. The Municipal Council does hereby support the efforts to end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2040.
4. The Municipal Council does hereby, in order to ensure that an AIDS-free generation is achievable, rapid action by all countries toward further expansion and scale-up of antiretroviral treatment programs, including efforts to reduce disparities and improve access for children to life-saving medications.
5. The Municipal Council does hereby encourage the scaling up of comprehensive prevention services, including biomedical and structural interventions, to ensure inclusive access to programs and appropriate protections for all people at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS, especially hard-to-reach populations.
6. The Municipal Council does hereby support the Call for greater focus on the HIV-related vulnerabilities of women and girls, including women and girls at risk for or who have survived violence or faced discrimination as a result of the disease.
7. The Municipal Council does hereby support the continued leadership by the United States in domestic, bilateral, multilateral and private sector efforts to fight HIV.
STATEMENT
This resolution commemorates and supports the goals of World AIDS Day.