More than 100,000 New Yorkers are known to be living with HIV/AIDS.
Stop the Spread of HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections
New York City continues to be the epicenter of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the U.S. with more than 100,000 New Yorkers living with the infection, thousands unaware of their status, and new HIV infections rising in young men (under 30) who have sex with men. Each year, more than 1,000 people in NYC find out that they are HIV+ when they are already sick with AIDS. Additionally, tens of thousands of New Yorkers have gonorrea, syphilis or Chlamydia which, if left untreated, can cause infertility, cancer, miscarriage, infections in newborns, and can increase transmission of HIV. Disparities exist in who gets infected – deaths due to AIDS are six times higher in NYC’s poorest neighborhoods.
Susan Blank, Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of Sexually Transmitted Diseases and Control and Prevention, discusses her background and interest in public health and the work the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is doing to prevent and treat sexually transmitted infections.
The Fund for Public Health in New York (FPHNY) has worked with the NYC Health Department to raise funds for and implement important prevention, screening and treatment programs aimed at reducing transmission rates of sexually transmitted infections. Read about these initiatives by clicking the links below.