Jacksonville is joining hundreds of cities or metropolitan areas and international organizations trying to stop the spread of HIV by 2030.
The city held a signing ceremony Wednesday to join a global partnership called Fast-Track Cities.
The core partners are the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, United Nations Human Settlements Programme and the city of Paris.
Jacksonville officials say the partnership will allow them to figure out the best way to prevent the spread of HIV, and the city will also be able to access grant funding for HIV education testing and treatment.
The commitment comes with Mayor Donna Deegan's signing of the Paris Declaration on Fast-Track Cities, which outlines a set of commitments to achieve the initiative's objectives.
The partners share goals of having 95% of the HIV-positive population know their status, 95% of people living with the virus to be on treatments, and 95% of people living with HIV to have their viral load suppressed.
Deegan happened to sign on National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day, which brings attention to older people with HIV.
“Here in Jacksonville, we have made steady progress on the HIV numbers,” said Deegan, citing a 5 percent decrease in the rate of HIV diagnosis year over year and a 4 percent decrease in the total number of people living with HIV per every 100,000 people.
“However, since we’re ultimately striving for zero new HIV infections and zero HIV-related deaths, there does remain more work for us to do to ensure no one is left behind in all this.
“And who typically gets left behind? The same populations that have been marginalized through the years in the same communities all across our city. It is a combination of health inequities, homophobia and/or transphobia and other factors that make people vulnerable to intersectional stigmas and social marginalization. That has to cease in our city.”
Jacksonville joins 34 other North American metro areas in the partnership, including Tampa, Miami-Dade and Fort Lauderdale.
Health News Florida's Rick Mayer contributed to this report.
