News Flash

Mayor's Press Releases

Posted on: March 14, 2019

Baton Rouge and New Orleans join Louisiana Department of Health in support of U=U Campaign

BATON ROUGE, LA — March 14, 2019 — The cities of Baton Rouge and New Orleans are joining the Louisiana Department of Health in pledging their support for the U=U Campaign. In February, LDH Secretary Dr. Rebekah Gee gave the Department’s support for the campaign.


The U=U Campaign is a national effort to highlight established evidence that people living with HIV cannot spread the virus to sexual partners if they are receiving care and taking medications to control the virus to the point that it cannot be detected in the blood. In other words, Undetectable=Untransmittable.


Louisiana ranks fourth in the nation for the highest HIV case rates. New Orleans and Baton Rouge are two of the top five cities for rates of HIV diagnoses, according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics. In 2018, there were 22,180 Louisianans living with HIV and over half have had a prior AIDS diagnosis.


“Individuals can and should live essentially normal lives and should be treated as such. This campaign highlights the importance of people getting tested and learning their HIV status. Then, those who are identified as living with HIV can be referred to effective treatment,” Gee said.


In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention endorsed the U=U campaign as the most important message in the fight against HIV. It serves as a transformative message for people living with HIV and an informative message for those who are not.


"This campaign will help dismantle the stigma surrounding HIV, encouraging people to find out their status and help them start and stay on treatment to keep them and their partners healthy," said Dr. Jennifer Avegno, director of the City of New Orleans Health Department.


“The U=U campaign will reduce the shame and fear of sexual transmission while also strengthening advocacy for universal access to treatment, care and diagnostics,” Avegno added. “This is an opportunity for us to transform the perception around this illness and save lives through proper treatment.”


“Ending the stigma around HIV is crucial for people to get tested and treated to reduce their viral load to an undetectable level,” said Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome.


“Getting the necessary care is critical to living a quality, healthy life with HIV, and that is the message this campaign seeks to communicate – living with HIV today is not the same as it was 20 years ago,” added Broome. “This is a message of freedom and hope.”


Through work done in the state, Louisiana has seen a decrease in HIV and AIDS rates and diagnoses. According to CDC data, Louisiana fell from third in HIV infection diagnosis rate in 2016 to fourth in 2017. Overall, there was a decrease of 120 cases from 2016 to 2017.


This is due, in part, to raising public and provider awareness to the deficiencies in screening and diagnosis rates. The Louisiana Health Hub has been redesigned into a central online site for education, locations for screening and treatment, and a directory of community partners. Health Hub is maintained by the Louisiana Department of Health and serves as a centralized location for information about STDs.


Baton Rouge and the City Health Department of New Orleans are joining several state health departments and hundreds of other health-care organizations across the globe who have partnered to support this critical initiative.

U=U Campaign
Facebook Twitter Email

Other News in Mayor's Press Releases

MyBR App is here!

Posted on: December 5, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: November 1, 2023

Comite River Cleaning Project Completed

Posted on: October 4, 2023

Community Connection

Posted on: September 22, 2023

Same Day Hiring Event!

Posted on: September 20, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: August 29, 2023

Community Safety Planning Lab

Posted on: July 17, 2023

Upcoming Summer of Hope Events

Posted on: July 8, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: June 29, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: June 26, 2023

Baton Rouge Juneteenth Holiday

Posted on: June 16, 2023

Comite River Cleaning Underway

Posted on: April 11, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: March 27, 2023

HOME ARP Draft Action Plan Forums

Posted on: March 16, 2023

Open Data Day 2023 Virtual Event

Posted on: February 28, 2023

Update on Today's Rain Event

Posted on: January 29, 2023

Redstick Rising

Posted on: January 10, 2023

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: September 27, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: September 16, 2022

Blight Month and Blight Bootcamp

Posted on: August 30, 2022

Amite and Comite Projects Announced

Posted on: August 18, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: July 11, 2022

Baton Rouge Juneteenth Holiday

Posted on: June 13, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: June 8, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: May 23, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: May 18, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: May 5, 2022

Hurricane Preparedness Week

Posted on: May 2, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: April 13, 2022

City-Parish Offices to Close at Noon

Posted on: March 22, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: March 16, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: March 15, 2022

Statement by Mayor Broome

Posted on: February 25, 2022

Wintry Mix Possible This Week

Posted on: January 19, 2022

Mayor Broome Appoints New Fire Chief

Posted on: December 23, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: November 22, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: November 15, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: September 24, 2021

Mayor Broome Extends Curfew

Posted on: September 3, 2021

Mayor Extends Curfew

Posted on: September 3, 2021

Ice Distribution Site at Noon

Posted on: September 3, 2021

Mayor Broome Extends Curfew

Posted on: September 2, 2021

Mayor Broome Extends Curfew

Posted on: August 30, 2021

Mayor Broome Implements Curfew

Posted on: August 29, 2021

Pre-Landfall Shelter Opened

Posted on: August 29, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: July 19, 2021

City-Parish Monitoring Invest 92L

Posted on: June 17, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: June 11, 2021

Hurricane Season 2021 Begins

Posted on: June 1, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: May 17, 2021

Statement from Mayor Broome

Posted on: April 26, 2021

Winter Storm Debris Removal Underway

Posted on: February 19, 2021

Emergency Shelters and City-Parish Offices

Posted on: February 16, 2021

Curfew Issued for East Baton Rouge Parish

Posted on: February 15, 2021

HURRICANE ZETA AND GARBAGE SERVICES

Posted on: October 27, 2020

Mayor Broome Announces Citizen Data Academy

Posted on: September 22, 2020

Geaux Get Healthy Launches Year Three

Posted on: September 21, 2020

Mayor Broome Declares Parish-Wide Emergency

Posted on: September 13, 2020

Stormwater Master Plan Virtual Open House

Posted on: September 2, 2020

City-Parish Buildings Remain Closed

Posted on: August 25, 2020

Mayor Broome to Extend Mask Order

Posted on: July 28, 2020

Tropical Weather Trending

Posted on: July 23, 2020

Real Time Crime Center Gets Major Donation

Posted on: December 11, 2019

Baton Rouge Healthy Food Retail Initiative

Posted on: November 20, 2019

2019 Capital Region Veterans Parade

Posted on: November 11, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: October 22, 2019

Baton Rouge Veteran’s Parade 2019

Posted on: October 7, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: October 7, 2019

Mayor Broome Kicks Off MOVEBR Program

Posted on: September 24, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: August 19, 2019

Tropical Storm Barry Updates

Posted on: July 14, 2019

Invest 92L Preparations

Posted on: July 9, 2019

Gulf Tropical Disturbance Update

Posted on: July 8, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: May 30, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: April 24, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: March 27, 2019

MOHSEP Monitoring Rising Mississippi River

Posted on: February 28, 2019

STATEMENT BY THE MAYOR-PRESIDENT

Posted on: February 4, 2019

Mayor Broome Announces SKYWARN Training

Posted on: December 4, 2018

Essay Contest for Local Middle Schoolers

Posted on: September 11, 2018

Mayor Broome Creates Blight Strike Team

Posted on: February 16, 2018

Metro Council Approves 2018 Budget

Posted on: December 12, 2017