Ten Things We Need to Do to Achieve the Goals of the End the HIV Epidemic Plan for America

DHHS announced a plan for Ending the HIV Epidemic (EtHE) by reducing new HIV infections in the United States by 75% within 5 years and 90% within 10 years through early diagnosis of all individuals with HIV, immediate treatment to achieve viral suppression, protection of high-risk but uninfected individuals including with pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and quickly responding to emerging HIV clusters. APPROACH: Ten steps are outlined that will help the field achieve EtHE Plan goals. FINDINGS: Steps needed to reach EtHE goals are: (1) better reaching, understanding, and meeting the HIV prevention and care needs of Black men who have sex with men; (2) deployment of interventions that address social, cultural, behavioral, and structural determinants of HIV disparities; (3) improving uptake in biomedical HIV-prevention strategies in mid-sized cities across the country's center; (4) addressing with long-term commitment the urgent HIV-prevention needs in the US Southeast; (5) encouraging more frequent and regular HIV testing; (6) developing better strategies to not only encourage initiation but also the long-term and sustained use of PrEP by persons at high risk for contracting HIV infection; (7) improving the comfort and capacity of primary care providers to prescribe PrEP; (8) increasing HIV medical care retention and care re-engagement, especially among persons with competing life stressors; (9) developing sustainable implementation efforts; and (10) addressing policies that can facilitate or impede success in eliminating the HIV epidemic in the United States. CONCLUSION: EtHE goals are achievable but will require concerted, sustained effort.