Dr. Don Lucas and the Northwest Vista College Psychology department were formally asked by the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District to be a part of “The End Stigma End HIV Alliance.”
Dr. Don Lucas, along with research colleague, Dr. Leslie Martinez of Incarnate Word University, NVC student Marin McDaniel, and NVC colleague Judy Camargo attended their first End Stigma End HIV Alliance meeting on Sept. 18 in which Fast-Track Cities data were presented.
Following the meeting, Dr. Junda Woo, medical director of the City of San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, asked Dr. Lucas to join two research teams, one at the University of Texas San Antonio and the other at the University of Texas Health Sn Antonio, that are measuring baseline stigmas as they relate to HIV. Lastly, Dr. Woo is currently promoting 5MIweekly with the Syphilis/HIV Testing Task Force of San Antonio. 5MIweekly is a YouTube channel Dr. Lucas created to provide factual information about sex education.
According to Fast Track Cities, Austin, Dallas, and San Antonio are the only Texas cities involved in this initiative. Launched on World AIDS Day 2014, the network has grown to include more than 300 cities and municipalities that are committed to attain the targets by 2020: 90% of all people living with HIV will know their HIV status; 90% of all people with diagnosed HIV infection will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy (ART); and 90% of all HIV-diagnosed people receiving sustained ART will achieve viral suppression.