Cascade AIDS Project Adopts Health Equity as Guiding Principle

Portland, OR | October 16, 2015 - Recognizing the powerful correlation between HIV and such factors as race, ethnicity, sexual identity, gender and more, Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) has drafted and adopted a health equity plan. The plan sets five strategic imperatives to frame CAP’s work over the next two years. These imperatives inform the agency’s organizational culture, program alignment, evaluation, policy advocacy, and community partnerships.

“HIV disproportionately impacts communities experiencing oppressions,” said CAP’s Executive Director, Tyler TerMeer. “For example, in Oregon, black men are four times more likely than white men to be diagnosed with HIV. Nationwide, a third of black men who have sex with men are HIV-positive. There is, of course, no single factor that has led to black gay men being one of the groups most disproportionately affected by HIV. Instead, it is a multifaceted set of issues involving social, cultural, and economic forces interacting in a variety of ways.”

CAP’s role in health equity is to provide low-barrier, culturally-affirming services to increase access to care, build coalitions across sectors, empower communities and advocate for systemic change.