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In the State of the Union Address on February 5, 2019, President Donald J. Trump announced his Administration’s goal to end the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years. To achieve this goal and address the ongoing public health crisis of HIV, the proposed Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE): A Plan for America will leverage the powerful data and tools now available to reduce new HIV infections in the United States by 75 percent in five years and by 90 percent by 2030.  While nationally HIV rates are on the decline, Mississippi is still considered to be an identified hot spot along with six other substantial rural states.  To focus the effort on addressing ending the epidemic in Mississippi, the Community Health Center Association of Mississippi (CHCAMS), along with the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH), Office of STD/HIV, and the Mississippi AIDS Education Training Center (AETC) is implementing the “Mississippi Ending the HIV Epidemic Initiative.”  This initiative focuses on the four pillars designed by the national EHE strategy:

• Pillar One: Diagnose all people with HIV as early as possible after transmission;
• Pillar Two: Treat people with HIV rapidly and effectively to reach sustained viral suppression;
• Pillar Three: Prevent new HIV transmission by using proven interventions, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and syringe services programs (SSPs); and
• Pillar Four: Respond quickly to potential HIV outbreaks to get needed prevention and treatment services to people who need them.