WASHINGTON, D.C. – Thanks to an award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS United will be able to provide capacity-building assistance to community-based organizations (CBOs) around the country to help them better plan, implement, and sustain high-impact HIV prevention (HIP) interventions and strategies with HIV-positive and high-risk HIV-negative populations. Called “Getting to Zero: Capacity Building for CBOs on High-Impact Prevention Implementation (G2Zero),” the five-year project is designed to strengthen CBOs – a key part of the HIV prevention workforce – by improving their organizational capacity and creating a sustainable infrastructure for delivery of effective prevention programs.
The G2Zero project will include broad-based training and information to CBOs nationally, as well as more intensive assistance to select targeted CBOs. Over the five years, AIDS United’s staff as well as a diverse base of partners will provide this capacity-building assistance.
Partners such as the Bridging Group, Christie’s Place, GMHC, the Harm Reduction Coalition, Health Equity Institute, JRI Health, and Primary Care Development Corporation, among others, will allow G2Zero to deliver CBA to organizations that work with some of the hardest hit populations including gay and bisexual and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and those with a history of incarceration.
CDC estimates more than 1.1 million people in the U.S. are living with HIV, and nearly 50,000 new infections occur each year in the United States. Despite the epidemic’s heavy toll to date, significant milestones over the last four years have provided a clear path for substantially reducing new infections while also improving care for people living with HIV. A “perfect storm” solution has emerged with development of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS), passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and a deeper understanding of the power of treatment as prevention.
“We now know that our path to an AIDS-free generation must include a comprehensive HIV prevention strategy that includes treatment of those living with HIV, as well as effective behavioral interventions for those who are negative but at high risk for infection,” said Vignetta Charles, Ph.D. “Therefore we must ensure that CBOs serving these populations have the tools, training, and organizational infrastructure necessary to deploy effective treatment and behavioral prevention programs.
“We are grateful for the CDC’s investment in G2Zero, which we believe has tremendous potential to help us reduce the number of new HIV infections; reduce HIV-related morbidity, mortality and health disparities; and improve linkage to and retention in quality health care, particularly for our country’s most disproportionately affected populations.”
