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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR- 341-03
December 1, 2003

MAYOR MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG AND HEALTH COMMISSIONER THOMAS FRIEDEN ANNOUNCE THE NEW YORK CITY COMMISSION ON HIV/AIDS

"Faces of AIDS" Project Also Unveiled; Gracie Mansion Ceremony Commemorates World AIDS Day

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) Commissioner Dr. Thomas Frieden today announced the New York City Commission on HIV/AIDS, a panel of 20 individuals who will serve as key policy advisors to the Administration.  DOHMH Commissioner Frieden and Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning Dennis Walcott will serve as co-chairs of the Commission. Mayor Bloomberg also unveiled the Faces of AIDS public awareness campaign, which features striking portraits of New Yorkers who are living with HIV and AIDS.  The Mayor made the announcement at a reception in honor of World AIDS Day at Gracie Mansion. 

"World AIDS Day gives everyone a chance to think about the impact that HIV and AIDS has had on all of our lives," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "But we must think of every day as World AIDS Day.  HIV is the public health tragedy of our generation. We must continue the fight against the disease and work towards a cure.  Earlier this year, I pledged that our City would become a national and global model for dealing with this epidemic - and the New York City Commission on HIV and AIDS is just the latest example of that commitment. I believe we have assembled an outstanding group of individuals whose advice will greatly improve the lives of New Yorkers who live with HIV and AIDS. "

"AIDS prevention and care continue to be among our most critical public health priorities," said Commissioner Frieden.  "This Commission will provide the City with important input into our policy and planning efforts as we move forward in continuing the fight against the epidemic."

The New York City Commission on AIDS comprises individuals from diverse backgrounds, including executive directors of AIDS services organizations, HIV prevention researchers, and persons who are living with HIV/AIDS.  Each member has over a decade of experience in HIV/AIDS work.

The Commission will hold several meetings each year with the administration provide guidance on how to improve the prevention, treatment and control of HIV and AIDS.  It will supplement the work done by DOHMH's Bureau of HIV & AIDS, which manages and coordinates the agency's HIV/AIDS services.  It will also complement the work done by the New York City Prevention and Planning Group, as well as DOHMH's HIV Health and Human Services Planning Council, which determines how the City disburses funds received under the federal Ryan White Title I CARE Act.

The Commission's members are as follows:

  • Dennis Walcott, NYC Deputy Mayor for Policy, Commission Co-chair
  • Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, DOHMH Commissioner, Commission Co-chair
  • Verna Eggleston, Commissioner, NYC Human Resources Administration
  • Dr. Benjamin Chu, M.D., President, Health and Hospitals Corporation
  • Frank Oldham Jr., Citywide Coordinator for AIDS Policy, DOHMH
  • Moisés Agosto-Rosario, Vice President & Managing Dir., Community Access
  • Allan Clear, Executive Director, Harm Reduction Coalition 
  • Spenser Cox, former Director of The Antiviral Project and Communications at the Treatment Action Group.
  • Humberto Cruz, Director, Division of HIV Health Care, New York State Department of Health, AIDS Institute
  • Debra Fraser-Howze, President/CEO, National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
  • Jay Dobkin, M.D., Director, AIDS Center; Associate Attending Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital
  • David D. Ho, M.D., Director and CEO, Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center
  • Don C. Des Jarlais, Ph.D. A world-renowned research specialist in the field of HIV prevention among injection drug users and syringe exchange programs.
  • Mathilde Krim, Ph.D., Founding Chairman and Chairman of the Board, American Foundation for AIDS Research (AmFAR)
  • Kim Nichols, Sc.M., M.S., Co-Executive Director, African Services Committee. 
  • Ana Oliveira, M.A., Executive Director, Gay Men's Health Crisis
  • Jairo Enrique Pedraza, Director of International Programs, Cicatelli Assoc., Inc.
  • Elaine E. Reid, C.S.W., Co-Chairperson-Elect, NYC Prevention Planning Group
  • J. Edward Shaw, Co-Chairperson, NYC Prevention Planning Group's People Living With AIDS Advisory Committee. 
  • Rona M. Vail, M.D. Clinical Director of HIV Services at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Mayor Bloomberg also unveiled the Faces of AIDS awareness campaign, which features striking portraits of New Yorkers living with HIV and AIDS.  The portraits' subjects range from young children to the elderly, and reflect the ethnic and racial diversity of New York City's population.

Faces of AIDS is based around a photo exhibit and a forthcoming picture book of 80-persons living with HIV in New York City.  The poster-sized photographs also feature the story of the respective subject and how each has dealt with the disease.

"The Faces of AIDS project reminds us that behind statistics and data are real people," said Mayor Bloomberg.  "They are our loved ones - friends, family, neighbors, co-workers.  'Faces of AIDS' tells the compelling stories of New Yorkers who are living and thriving in the era of the AIDS epidemic."

The exhibit has already been seen at two of the nation's largest HIV/AIDS conferences - the Community Planning Leadership Summit in New York and the United States Conference on AIDS, held in New Orleans.  The Faces of AIDS book is due out in the spring of 2004.







MEDIA CONTACT:


Edward Skyler / Jordan Barowitz   (212) 788-2958

Sandra Mullin   (DOHMH)
(212) 788-5290




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