A red ribbon is displayed on the North Portico of the White House to recognize World AIDS Day, Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015, in Washington (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser joined leaders from around the world on Dec.1 in acknowledging World AIDS Day by signing the HIV Fast-Track Cities Declaration. The Declaration, based on The Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), will attempt to end the HIV epidemic by 2030, by streamlining prevention, diagnoses, and treatment.

In a ceremony at the Wilson Building, Bowser, along with a contingency of health professionals – including president of the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care Dr. José Zuniga,  – made steps to prioritize testing, and subsequent eradication of the disease. “I join Mayors from across the world to end this epidemic and usher in an HIV-free generation in D.C.,” Bowser said. “Today we reaffirm our commitment to ending the HIV epidemic.”

The new UNAIDS report “Fast-Track: Ending the AIDS Epidemic by 2030” guidelines suggest that with Fast-Track measures, which include a more personal approach to awareness and streamlining care through multi-agency intervention, nearly 28 million new HIV infections and 21 million AIDS-related deaths would be averted by 2030.

“We have bent the trajectory of the epidemic,” said Michel Sidibé, executive director of UNAIDS. “Now we have five years to break it for good or risk the epidemic rebounding out of control.”

Among Fast-Track targets is the 90-90-90 Plan, in which 90 percent of people living with HIV know their HIV status; 90 percent of people who know their HIV-positive status are receiving necessary and relevant treatment; and 90 percent of people on treatment are receiving support and have suppressed viral loads.

Phill Wilson, president of the Black AIDS Institute said that shifting models is necessary to reaching those populations that are currently unserved or are being underserved. “The GIPA principle (greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS) is not about charity. It is about effectiveness. We can end AIDS, but not without the meaningful participation of people living with and most at risk of HIV,” Wilson said.

While researchers, physicians, and organizations tasked with responding to the HIV and AIDS epidemic have noted massive and widespread progress in awareness, testing, and treatment, health educators believe that millions have been overlooked in prevention campaigns, causing best-results – zero new cases – to remain elusive.

Low-income countries, as well as impoverished communities continue to see new cases, which according to USAIDS speaks to the disparity in investments in prevention in those areas. “If we invest just $3 a day for each person living with HIV for the next five years we would break the epidemic for good,” said Sidibé. “And we know that each dollar invested will produce a $15 return.”

National Institutes of Health Director of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Anthony S. Fauci, said in a statement, that World AIDS Day reinvigorates the fight to reach these new goals. “On this World AIDS Day, there is considerable optimism that an end to the HIV/AIDS pandemic is achievable; however, to do this, we must have the will to apply established scientific findings and continue to follow the science,” Fauci said. “We must build on the promising achievements made through the dedication of researchers, health care professionals and clinical trial participants, and continue to work together to fill the gaps that remain.”