In 1985, the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force – now Allies for Health + Wellbeing – was founded to provide critical support services for people living with AIDS. The organization grew and evolved based on the changing needs of our community and the advances in science and medicine that turned HIV from a death sentence into a disease that people can live with.
We are excited to join our partners in the HIV community of Allegheny County to mark an important milestone: In 2025, Allegheny County recorded the lowest number of new HIV diagnoses since recordkeeping around HIV began. Only 53 people were diagnosed with HIV in the county last year, a 32% decrease from 2024 and a 54% decrease since 2016.
“This is a moment to celebrate our achievements as a community dedicated to eradicating HIV,” said Mary Bockovich, Allies CEO. “We are proud of the role PATF and Allies has played in getting us to this point, and we are looking forward to continuing this important work.”
When Kerry Stoner and a group of volunteers formed the Pittsburgh AIDS Task Force as an offshoot of the Pitt Men’s Study’s Community Advisory Board, its work included finding medical professionals who would work with people with HIV or AIDS as well as lawyers and state officials to handle issues involving Social Security and Medicare. Volunteers operated a hotline with information about the disease, and the Buddy Program offered companionship to people dying of AIDS. PATF began offering HIV testing in 1987, just two years after the first FDA approved tests became available.
“We really were first on the scene,” Bockovich said. “PATF was the public health initiative in many ways.”
Today, Allies for Health + Wellbeing offers more than 40 years of experience to people living in southwestern Pennsylvania who are at risk of HIV, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections. Allies’ full range of services not only includes HIV treatment and medical care but PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis) for HIV prevention. Patients who get PrEP at Allies can choose from a daily pill or injections.
“There is still much to be done to support those living with HIV and to connect those at risk of HIV with the highly effective prevention that PrEP offers,” Bockovich said. “HIV has not gone away, though it is now a manageable chronic illness, and we will continue to meet the challenges ahead and to provide the best possible care and support to those we serve.”
“This is an extraordinary public health achievement, and it is important that we recognize what these numbers tell us: public health investments work,” said Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato. “But this progress also reminds us that ending HIV requires sustained commitment. We have to protect and build upon the infrastructure, partnerships and trust that made this possible.”
“The landscape of HIV and AIDS has changed many times over the years,” Bockovich said. “Each time, PATF and Allies has adapted to the breakthroughs in medical treatment and the changing needs of our patients and clients. We look forward to celebrating more of these milestones as our work continues.”
Read the Allegheny County news release here.
Read QBurgh's story on this announcement here.
