HR0741 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0741 LRB103 40362 LAW 72637 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, To address the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic across Illinois, a statewide public-private partnership of 50 government, community, and health care organizations was launched in 2017 with two primary objectives, to increase the number of people living with HIV who are virally suppressed, when the virus cannot be transmitted sexually, a concept known as "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U=U), and to increase the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among people who are vulnerable to HIV; and

WHEREAS, To further address Illinois' HIV/AIDS epidemic and after nearly three years of considering the latest HIV science and gathering extensive community feedback, Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL), a robust six-pronged plan to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030, was unveiled on May 15, 2019; and

WHEREAS, The GTZ-IL plan, coordinated by the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, includes goals and strategies intended to reduce new HIV transmissions, support the health of people living with HIV and AIDS, and help Illinois get to a point where the HIV epidemic can no longer sustain itself, or a "functional zero"; and

WHEREAS, In order to expand the reach of the GTZ-IL plan, the GTZ Dashboard was launched in 2021 to help stakeholders track progress of the plan through data organized into three sections, which are progress measures, health measures, and social determinants of health measures; and

WHEREAS, As of the end of 2022, estimates indicate that there are 42,942 Illinoisans living with diagnosed HIV, including an estimated 5,711 Illinoisans who are undiagnosed, and 1,385 people were newly diagnosed with HIV in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, While all genders, ages, racial/ethnic groups, and geographic regions are impacted by HIV in Illinois, dramatic health disparities remain among the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities being disproportionately affected; and

WHEREAS, As of the end of 2022, Black Illinoisans comprised 44% of people living with HIV, or 16,251 people, followed by white Illinoisans at 25%, or 9,313 people, and Latinx Illinoisans at 22%, or 8,093 people; and

WHEREAS, As of the end of that same year, Black and Latinx Illinoisans comprised 70% of those newly diagnosed with HIV, at 41% and 29% respectively; and

WHEREAS, The GTZ-IL plan prioritizes four communities in Illinois that are disproportionately impacted by HIV, which include Black and Latinx gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men, transgender women of color, and Black cisgender women; and

WHEREAS, HIV/AIDS has ravaged communities across Illinois, with access to health care, HIV treatment, HIV-related stigma, access to PrEP, and social determinants of health, including housing instability and homelessness, persisting as barriers to lowering HIV incidence rates; and

WHEREAS, May 15, 2024 marks the fifth anniversary of the GTZ-IL plan, an initiative introduced by Governor JB Pritzker that has become the State's primary instrument used to address HIV/AIDS across Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare May 15, 2024 as Getting to Zero Illinois Day in the State of Illinois to recommit to a hopeful and achievable path toward virtually eliminating new HIV transmissions and improving overall health care access in Illinois so that all Illinoisans can thrive; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support the goals and priorities of the Getting to Zero Illinois (GTZ-IL) plan, including the recently updated Getting to Zero Illinois Plan 2.0, with the goal to achieve zero new HIV transmissions by 2030; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support continued funding for prevention, care, and treatment services for communities impacted by HIV and people living with HIV in Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we support efforts to reduce health disparities and improve access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment in the Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities disproportionately impacted by HIV; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Chicago Department of Public Health, and the AIDS Foundation of Chicago as a symbol of our esteem and respect for coordinating the Getting to Zero Illinois plan to end the HIV epidemic in Illinois by 2030.