Ending Preventable Epidemics

Various units within the Office of Health Equity and Human Rights oversee a number of initiatives addressing preventable public health epidemics such as HIV, Hepatitis C, and Congenital Syphilis.

HIV

On June 29, 2014, New York State announced its three-point plan to end the AIDS epidemic in New York State. The goal was to achieve the first ever decrease in HIV prevalence in New York State by the end of 2020.

The three-point plan:

  1. Identifies persons with HIV who remain undiagnosed and links them to health care.
  2. Links and retains persons diagnosed with HIV in health care to maximize virus suppression so they remain healthy and prevent further transmission.
  3. Facilitates access to Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for high-risk persons to keep them HIV negative.

Ending the Epidemic (ETE) in New York State will maximize the availability of life-saving, transmission-interrupting treatment for HIV, saving lives and improving the health of New Yorkers. It will move New York from a history of having the worst HIV epidemic in the country to a future where new infections are rare and those living with the disease have normal lifespans with few complications.

In 2020, New Yorkers faced an unprecedented challenge. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a major shift in focus for both the State and the providers on the frontline, disrupting services. During the height of the pandemic, there was an increase in HIV cases in certain parts of the state, significant reductions in HIV testing and reporting of diagnoses, and decreases in the number of persons accessing PrEP. As a result, New York State is revising the ETE timeline outlined in the Ending the Epidemic Beyond 2020 - Addendum Report (ny.gov) and pledges to reach ETE goals and end the epidemic by the end of 2024, with outcomes measuring ETE progress available by December 2025.

Hepatitis C

In November 2021, New York State Department of Health reaffirmed its commitment to addressing hepatitis C with the release of the New York State Hepatitis C Elimination Plan. The Hepatitis C Elimination Plan outlines recommendations in five key areas that will lead the state to eliminate hepatitis C as a public health problem by 2030, including: 1) Prevention; 2) Care and Treatment Access; 3) Testing and Linkage to Care; 4) Surveillance, Data and Metrics; and 5) Social Determinants.

A virtual meeting for the first Annual New York State Hepatitis C Elimination Progress Report is scheduled for May 10, 2023 to report on progress toward reaching New York State's elimination goals and metrics, and to share programmatic, policy and other significant accomplishments, as well as discuss what more is needed to further advance elimination efforts. Learn more about the May 10, 2023 virtual meeting

A series of virtual regional discussion sessions open to the public were held to promote the Plan.

Congenital Syphilis

Every case of congenital syphilis, which results from untreated syphilis infection in pregnancy by transmission in utero or during vaginal delivery, is entirely preventable.

Free and confidential HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) testing is available at local health department Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) clinics across New York State. Click here for clinic locations and hours.

NYSDOH Resources

Additional Resources