JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In Jacksonville, roughly 6,935 people are currently living with HIV, which ranks as the 10th highest in Florida and is 20% higher than the state average.
Statistically, for every 100,000 Duval County residents, 28.3 will be diagnosed with HIV in a given year.
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In 2022, Duval County diagnosed 294 people with HIV, which was the fourth highest in the state and 37% higher than the state average.
But, Jacksonville’s numbers have been improving over the last five years, said Dr. Sunil Joshi, the city’s Chief Health Officer.
“However, we have a long way to go,” he said.
A major step in the right direction was taken Wednesday, when Mayor Donna Deegan signed the Paris Declaration, making Jacksonville an official Fast-Track City, Joshi said.
The ceremony in City Hall took place on National HIV/AIDS and Aging Awareness Day with an AIDS quilt hanging in the background.
“It’s all happening at the right time. Jacksonville’s moving in the right direction. It’s a special day for us,” Joshi said.
Deegan’s signature means Jacksonville has joined a global partnership of more than 500 cities that aims to end urban HIV epidemics by getting to zero new HIV infections, zero AIDS-related deaths, and zero HIV-related stigma.
Launched on World AIDS Day 2014, the partnership also advances efforts to end tuberculosis (TB) epidemics and eliminate viral hepatitis (HBV and HCV) in urban settings by 2030.
The global partnership also includes the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), and the City of Paris.
For more information about the Fast-Track Cities initiative, visit: https://www.fast-trackcities.org.