Ending the Epidemics SC / Ending the HIV Epidemic | South Carolina Department of Public Health

FREE STD/HIV testing on December 3 at most local health department clinics. Please call 1-855-472-3432 to schedule an appointment or click here for a listing of local health departments.

Vision Statement

Our vision is a South Carolina free of new cases of HIV, STDs, Viral Hepatitis and Substance Use Disorders

Motto

Stay Safe · Get Tested · Treat Early · End Stigma

Program Description

Our statewide effort, known as Ending the Epidemics SC (EtE SC) focuses on HIV, STDs, Viral Hepatitis, and Substance Use Disorders. EtE SC is guided by a community-led Steering Committee, whose members are located throughout South Carolina. Currently, EtE SC is concentrating its efforts heavily on Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE). We thank the CDC, whose funding makes this dedicated EHE effort possible. With extensive feedback from a series of statewide and regional forums – held online in 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic – a plan was developed to End the HIV Epidemic (EHE). Several of these forums were held exclusively for People Living With HIV (PLWH) and several in Spanish. This EHE Plan is being implemented along with the work of our larger EtE SC vision.

Purpose

Ending the HIV Epidemic (EHE): A Plan for America is the U.S. government’s aggressive plan to end the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030. The SC EHE plan aligns with the national plan to achieve and sustain viral suppression and reduce new infections. As with the national plan, South Carolina’s goal is to reduce all new HIV infections by 75% during the first five years of the initiative and by 90% in 10 years.

At the heart of the South Carolina EHE plan are four fundamental strategies or pillars:
- DIAGNOSE all individuals with HIV as early as possible after infection;
- TREAT HIV infections rapidly after diagnosis and effectively in all people who have HIV, to help them achieve and maintain viral suppression;
- PREVENT HIV infections using proven prevention interventions, including Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and syringe services programs; and
- RESPOND rapidly to potential HIV outbreaks provide prevention and treatment services to people who need them.

In addition to the CDC, our local and other national allies are critical to our efforts. Many are listed in the EHE Plan in the Acknowledgements section. Key among our ongoing allies are:

People Living With HIV (PLWH), who contribute his/her/their wisdom to our efforts.
SC HIV Planning Council - Scphc.org
Our two “Fast-Track Cities”: Our capital city, Columbia, and our major port city, Charleston. Both Columbia and Charleston have been active as "Fast-Track Cities" since 2019. Both cities are committed to achieve the 95-95-95 targets of 95% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status, 95% of people who know their HIV-positive status on treatment, and 95% of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.
Prevention Access Campaign, which spearheaded the Undetectable equals Untransmittable (U=U) campaign.