Wednesday, March 6, 2019
President Trump wants to end HIV transmissions in the U.S. by the end of the next decade by targeting "hot spots" across the country, including Mecklenburg County. Is that an achievable goal? How did Mecklenburg and other parts of the South become the epicenter of new HIV cases in America?
In last month's State of the Union address, the president announced a plan of attack for ending the spread of HIV by 2030.
To achieve that target, the government would focus on 48 "hot spot" counties across the country with high rates of new infection. That includes Mecklenburg County, where more than 6,600 people are living with HIV.
The administration's plan would also zero in on seven states, including South Carolina, with a "substantial rural HIV burden."
Can the 2030 goal be achieved? What's standing in the way of eliminating the spread of HIV?
GUESTS
Chelsea Gulden, RAIN, vice president of operations
Shannon Farrar, Carolinas CARE Partnership, executive director
Bernadette Moss, Carolinas CARE Partnership, prevention coordinator
Lee Storrow, North Carolina AIDS Action Network, executive director; board member, Southern AIDS Coalition