Worlds AIDS Day is marked each December 1, but a single day cannot contain the efforts of New Orleans’s “Bounce to Zero” campaign to end the HIV epidemic and fight stigma. The campaign has organized “HIV Weeks of Awareness,” a series of events spanning through December 15. Remaining events this week include:
- Tuesday, December 10: Mobile Health Unit
A mobile health unit will offer free testing for HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) plus blood pressure and glucose screenings at Concerned Citizens for a Better Algiers (1417 Nunez Street, Algiers).
- Thursday, December 12: Kourtyard Karaoke
A performance by Chloe Sherry Black will be just one of the highlights of the music festivities at Concerned Citizens for a Better Algiers (1417 Nunez Street, Algiers).
Previous “HIV Weeks of Awareness” events this year included a No Wrap No Tap Pajama Jam, a Brunch Beyond Stigma, a Ministers Breakfast, a Beyond Stigma Workshop, a Unity and Resilience Brunch for Black Women, an LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana Exhibit, a Lights of Hope and a Wreath Laying Ceremony at the New Orleans AIDS Memorial at Washington Square Park.
“Bounce to Zero” is inspired by bounce music—the high-energy hip-hop genre that originated in New Orleans. Spearheaded by Ryan White Services and Resources, a division of the New Orleans Health Department, the campaign launched two years ago on World AIDS Day.
The local effort is part of the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE) initiative, which aims to reduce new HIV cases in the country by 75% by 2025 and by 90% by 2030. This would amount to fewer than 3,000 HIV cases a year. “Reducing new infections to this level,” according to the initiative, “would essentially mean that HIV transmissions would be rare and meet the definition of ending the epidemic.”
The strategy for reaching these benchmarks involves investing federal funding and resources in programs such as Rapid Start and PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) in the 57 key states, counties and cities (referred to as jurisdictions) that together account for 50% of new HIV cases. These jurisdictions include 48 counties nationwide plus Washington, DC; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and seven rural states with high HIV burdens (Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and South Carolina).
According to a “Bounce to Zero” press release, “New Orleans was selected as part of a national initiative…[because of] its high HIV burden, gaps in treatment coverage and its demonstrated commitment and capacity to fast-track the HIV response. In 2022, Louisiana ranked fourth nationally for HIV diagnosis rates, underscoring the urgent need for action.”
The campaign’s launch, via BounceToZero.com, included Queen of Bounce Big Freedia and urges folks to #NOLAYourStatus (a play on “know your status”) and to take a pledge to stop HIV stigma.
