In 2015, Governor Andrew Cuomo made a dramatic announcement. He was launching a new initiative designed to decrease new HIV diagnoses in New York. Its goal? To end the AIDS epidemic by the end of 2020.

"We will not stop until the AIDS epidemic is part of the past, like tuberculosis and measles and polio and influenza!" he said. 

Now, 5 years later, and in the grip of another pandemic, we've arrived at the end of 2020.

Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, Deputy Commissioner for the New York City Health Department’s Division of Disease Control, says the AIDS epidemic isn't over, but state and local strategy—and the political will of Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio—have helped New York get it under better control. 

"Nothing ends, because it's about continuing to do the work that maintains the health of New Yorkers and other people with HIV," he said. 

Click "Listen" in the player above, to hear his entire conversation with WNYC's David Furst.