© 2024 WSHU
NPR News & Classical Music
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New York To End AIDS Epidemic By 2020

Kevin P. Coughlin
/
Office of N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo at a press conference in 2015.

New York State says it’s on track to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the state by 2020.

Governor Andrew Cuomo says that the state saw its largest decrease in new HIV diagnoses last year. He says more New Yorkers are using prevention drugs to stop the spread of the virus. 

“New York State was the first responder to the AIDS crisis.”

In 1983 Governor Mario Cuomo, the current governor’s father, started the first needle exchange program. He also pushed for the confidentiality of health records and direct medical research on AIDS. 

In 2015, Andrew Cuomo launched a program to curb the epidemic with preventative care.

There were fewer than 2,500 new cases of HIV in the state last year.

 

A native Long Islander, J.D. is WSHU's managing editor. He also hosts the climate podcast Higher Ground. J.D. reports for public radio stations across the Northeast, is a journalism educator and proud SPJ member.