The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment and the Office of HIV Resources are calling for residents to remember on Tuesday, World AIDS Day, that people at-risk of contracting HIV, living with the disease or are supporting someone else who is in need of connection with their support systems to stay safe as the coronavirus pandemic persists. 

“The pandemic has definitely had an effect on our community. It has impacted how people are able to access and engage actively in their healthcare, as well as their ability to access HIV testing and resources,” Robert George, DDPHE’s HIV resources section program manager, said in a statement. “Connection is still important, and our community members have done as much as they can to support each other right now and help keep people engaged in much-needed services.”

The theme of the 32nd annual World Aids Day is “Ending the HIV/AIDS Epidemic: Resilience and Impact,” intended to highlight the need for “strengthening the capacity and resilience of communities and health systems” to address HIV prevention services during a global pandemic, a time when people are less likely to seek out services and remain closely connected with their community, according to DDPHE. 

“Ending the HIV epidemic means that we have to recognize and address the social challenges that keep marginalized groups from accessing vital services,” DDPHE executive director Bob McDonald said in a news release Monday. “Our goal is to make sure that we are getting everyone connected to what they need, not only to prevent HIV, but also to stay as healthy as possible if they are living with HIV.”

Through a $7.5 million grant from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program, Denver’s Office of HIV Resources heads up funding of services for people living with HIV in Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas and Jefferson counties. 

Denver was the fourth North American city to pledge to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as part of the Fast-Track Cities program, a global partnership between more than 300 municipalities around the world and four partners: the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, the United Nations Human Settlements Programme and the city of Paris.

The group’s goal is to attain a 90-90-90-target: that 90% of people living with HIV will know their HIV status; that 90% of those who know their status will receive sustained antiretroviral therapy; and that 90% of those receiving sustained treatment will achieve viral suppression. 

An estimated 1.2 million people are living with HIV across the country, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with roughly 50,000 people contracting HIV every year.

The CDC estimates that about 1 in 7 are unaware of their HIV status in the U.S. 

Populations disproportionately impacted by the disease include gay and bisexual men, transgender individuals, people of color, as well as those experiencing homelessness and those who have been previously incarcerated.