The free podcast Fast-Track Cities uses storytelling to explore how numerous urban centers across the globe are fighting their HIV epidemics.

Launched by the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care (IAPAC), the podcast dovetails with the “Fast-Track Cities Initiative” through which cities implement specific plans to reach the 90-90-90 targets set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Those targets include:

  • Getting 90 percent of people living with HIV to know their status

  • Getting 90 percent of people diagnosed with HIV in care and on meds

  • Getting 90 percent of people diagnosed with HIV and on meds to achieve an undetectable viral load.

“After spending the last almost four years focused on advancing the Fast-Track Cities objectives, we want to give voice to the inspiring stories about the urban AIDS response that uniquely vary city-by-city,” said José M. Zuniga, PhD, MPH, and president and CEO of IAPAC, in a press release about the podcast. “Our goal is not only to educate our audience about HIV/AIDS globally but to share the best practices that cities working in partnership with communities are advancing to ensure that no one is left behind as we strive to end AIDS as a public health threat. I would like to personally thank everyone who graciously participated in the first season as we could not have done this without you and your personal anecdotes.”

The Fast-Track Cities Initiative and the UNAIDS Fast-Track Strategy aim to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030. You can read more about the initiative here.

The 12-part podcast is available on iTunes and Google Play (find direct links here). The first three episodes are already available. Here’s an outline of the podcast’s entire first season:

  1. “Darkest Days”

  2. “HIV: Science, Treatment and the Future”

  3. “Fast-Track Cities: The Urban Response”

  4. “North American Cities—Part 1” (San Francisco, New York City)

  5. “North American Cities—Part 2” (Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Birmingham)

  6. “Caribbean Cities” (Kingston, Port-au-Prince)

  7. “Latin American Cities” (Buenos Aires, Mexico City, São Paulo)

  8. “European Cities—Part 1” (Berlin, Kiev, Paris)

  9. “European Cities—Part 2” (Amsterdam, London, Madrid)

  10. “Asia-Pacific Cities” (Bangkok, Melbourne)

  11. “African Cities—Part 1” (Abidjan, Nairobi, Maputo)

  12. “African Cities—Part 2” (Durban, Kampala, Kigali)