Dallas County proclaims HIV/AIDS awareness month as health officials cite rising diagnoses and urge testing

Dallas County Commissioners Court unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing December as HIV/AIDS Awareness Month and pressing for renewed prevention, testing and care efforts in the region.

Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins and county health officials pointed to 914 new HIV diagnoses in Dallas County in 2024 as evidence that expanded testing is identifying more people who need rapid linkage to care. Dr. Wong, speaking for Dallas County Health and Human Services, said increased case counts “reflect what we expect as we're doing more testing” and emphasized the need to match diagnoses with rapid care and sustained treatment to achieve viral suppression.

Miranda Grant, the county’s Ending the HIV Epidemic program manager, told the court the department is focused on data modernization and centralized eligibility so people can access multiple services through a single intake process. “When you are so far in a deficit, it takes some time to come out of the red,” Grant said, adding that the county hosted a World IDSA summit with more than 150 attendees and is piloting stigma-reduction positions to improve engagement.

Sonya Hughes, who identified herself as assistant director for the Ryan White program in Dallas County, said the county’s Ryan White network and 13 subrecipients provide services to more than 11,000 clients in a 12-county region. She described initiatives to simplify eligibility and expand partnerships with community-based organizations to reduce barriers to care.

State Representative Vinton Jones, who also leads the Southern Black Policy & Advocacy Network, urged elected officials to protect targeted funding and remove barriers that deter Latino and immigrant communities from seeking services. Jones said fear of immigration enforcement, homelessness and other social determinants remain major obstacles: “If we continue to work together, we will see an end to this epidemic,” he said.

Health staff noted federal and state funding pressures. Dr. Wong described HRSA and SPNS grants and said the department is mostly federally funded; she urged the court to consider increased local funding in future budgets. County officials also cited an economic-impact figure county staff reported from a local study: one new HIV diagnosis is associated with an estimated lifetime cost of roughly $420,000 in the local economy.

The court’s resolution highlights the role of science-based prevention strategies — including PrEP and PEP, routine HIV testing, “treatment as prevention,” and anti-stigma efforts — and affirms the county’s commitment to culturally responsive prevention and care. The resolution passed by voice vote with the court recording unanimous support.

Next steps: county staff said they will continue data modernization work to better target outreach by ZIP code and to coordinate with Parkland and community partners on clinic expansions and testing events.