Your Weekly Dose of Health December 4, 2015
On World AIDS day this week, both New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Governor Cuomo made announcements related to combating virus. The mayor announced $23 million in funding that will be used for prevention and anti-retroviral therapies. New York City this year reported the lowest number of new HIV diagnoses in history. Governor Cuomo announced $200 million in state funding to fight HIV/AIDS, and has previously announced a plan to end the AIDS epidemic in the state by 2020.
New York this week became the U.S. city to put sodium warnings on menus. A salt shaker appears next to menu items that contain more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium, part of an effort to reduce heart disease and stroke. In response, the National Restaurant Association filed a lawsuit arguing that the New York City Board of Health has overstepped their authority in approving the rule.
The Wall Street Journal details Mayor de Blasio’s new initiative Building Healthy Communities. The plan is a multimillion dollar public-private partnership that will work in 12 New York City communities with limited access to healthy food. The initiative will work to set up urban farms, school gardens, culinary programs, and farmers markets.
New York State’s Medicaid Director Jason Helgerson was named a 2015 Public Health Official of the Year by Governing Magazine.
This week marked the 30th anniversary of New York State legislation that raised the drinking age to 21. Governor Cuomo announced that alcohol related fatalities have decreased by 60% since then.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation this week committed $500 million to fighting childhood obesity in the U.S.