HIV AND LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY MEMBERS CALL FOR ACTION FROM GOVERNOR HOCHUL AND NEW YORK STATE LEGISLATORS TO END THE HIV EPIDEMIC IN NEW YORK BY 2030

Albany, NY- February 4, 2026, at 11AM - Members of New York’s HIV and LGBTQ+ communities gathered on the Capitol’s “Million Dollar Staircase” to raise a unified and urgent call to Governor Hochul and the New York State Legislature: New York must enact a final budget that meaningfully confronts escalating Federal attacks threatening decades of progress in HIV prevention, care, housing, and health equity.

This gathering follows a petition delivery In December from more than 400 members of the HIV and LGBTQ+ community urging Governor Hochul to pass concrete budget actions to demonstrate New York State’s ongoing commitment to Ending the HIV Epidemic. The petition called for sustained funding for proven HIV/AIDS programs, affordable housing for people with HIV experiencing homelessness, and investments to ensure equitable access to HIV prevention tools, including pre exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Those requests came from people on the front lines—and yet critical elements were once again left out of the Executive Budget.

Advocates are grateful that the FY2027 Executive Budget sustains level funding for core Ending the Epidemic and AIDS Institute programs. The continued investment helped New York bend the curve of the epidemic in 2019, when—for the first time after decades of increases— the number of New Yorkers living with HIV finally began to decline.

But sustaining funding alone is no longer enough—because New York is losing ground.

The data is clear and deeply concerning. New HIV diagnoses have increased for the third year in a row, reversing hard‑won progress made prior to 2020—particularly outside New York City. And these increases are not evenly distributed.

Black New Yorkers are experiencing new HIV diagnoses at more than nine times the rate of white New Yorkers. Latino New Yorkers at more than five times the rate. These disparities are unacceptable—especially when we have the tools to prevent HIV.

Despite representing more than three‑quarters of new HIV diagnoses statewide, Black and Hispanic New Yorkers account for just 22 percent of PrEP prescriptions in New York State. This is not a failure of science or medicine. It is a failure of access, of investment, and of equity.

New York State, always at the forefront in the fight against AIDS, must meet federal threats to our national HIV response by demonstrating renewed commitment from leadership to Ending our New York HIV Epidemic in every community and population.

We urge Governor Hochul and the Legislature to deliver a final budget that reflects this commitment, advances equity, and protects the health and futures of New Yorkers across the state.

"I urge the Legislature and the Executive to work together to allocate the funding necessary to help our State advance the goals set by the Ending HIV/AIDS Epidemic Blueprint," said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. "With the loss of significant federal healthcare funding amidst Republican attacks on the LGBTQ+ community, New York State needs to rise to the occasionand ensure that these vulnerable communities are adequately supported. I want to thank Housing Works and other organizations for their yearslong fight to eradicate HIV/AIDS from our State.”

“Under the current administration, federal funding is unstable and ideologically driven. That makes it less reliable to sustain efforts to end the HIV epidemic. We need New York to step up when our federal government steps back.” - Lyndel Urbano, Senior Director of Public Policy at Amida Care

“These disparities are not inevitable—and they are not acceptable.” Said Anthony Feliciano, Vice President for Advocacy, Housing Works. “They are the direct result of policy choices. And that is why the final state budget must include targeted investments in HIV housing stability and PrEP equity if New York is serious about ending the epidemic in every community.”

“When legislators fund prevention, testing, treatment, and community-based care, they save lives, strengthen public health systems, and reduce long-term healthcare costs. We have the tools to end the HIV epidemic; what we need now is the political will to act.” - Shirley Torho, Executive Director of National Black Health “Ending the epidemic through employment is cost-serving.” -Luis Worrell, Advocacy Project Manager, The Alliance for Positive Change

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