Chicago Department of Public Health ( CDPH ) and several collaborators, on Sept. 19, announced an ambitious "Getting to Zero" ( GTZ ) initiative aimed at eliminating new HIV transmissions in both Chicago as well as the entire state by the year 2027.
The initiative focuses on increasing the use of the PrEP intervention to squelch new infections, as well as ensuring that persons with HIV have undetectable viral loads, according to Dave Kern, CDPH's deputy commissioner for its HIV/ STI bureau.
"Much of the work that we do now already supports those two goals," Kern said. "We already have several programs and services in place already. But beginning next year, we'll be looking at the launch of marketing and media campaigns that support the use of PrEP and [encourage] viral suppression. In 2019, we'll be finding some additional initiatives that promote increasing access to high-quality healthcare, both for folks who are living with HIV and folks who are HIV-negative."
The initiative would ultimately also address social determinants of health, such as housing and employment as well, he added. While overall infection rates have declined in recent years, numerous disparities remain for many Chicagoans, so new infection rates are still high amongst several demographic groups.
Other collaborators include Illinois Department of Public Health, AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Center on Halsted, Howard Brown Health and Chicago Black Gay Men's Caucus, among others. Officials studied GTZ initiatives in locations such as New City, New York State, Washington State and San Francisco in order to formulate a strategy for Chicago and the state of Illinois. The process took about a year and a half, Kern said.
"An important part of Getting to Zero was the partnership that came across governmental public health and community partners so we're envisioning that CDPH's resources will be aligned with the State of Illinois' resources, as well as resources from other entities like philanthropic foundations and businesses," he added.
CDPH will hold a series of town hall meetings this fall about the initiative.