U=U must be widely known to improve quality of life of people living with HIV, improve public health
Presenter: Micheal Ighodaro, Prevention Access Campaign, United States
A summary of U=U for all: A Win-Win to Improve the Quality of Life of People Living with HIV “and” End the Epidemic, from the Symposium, Quality of Life: From Survival to Thriving Mode. Presented at the 24th International AIDS Conference, August 2, 2022.
The U (undetectable) = U (untransmittable) campaign launched by the Prevention Access Campaign (PAC), activists, researchers, healthcare providers, and health officials improves the quality of life of people living with HIV, reduces the stigma of HIV, and accelerates progress toward 95-95-95 targets, said Micheal Ighodaro, director, Global Policy Advocacy at PAC, during a symposium designed to educate attendees about efforts to ensure that people with viral suppression have good health-related quality of life. 95-95-95 refers to updated Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) targets for 2025 aim for 95% of those living with HIV to know their status, 95% of those who know their status to be on treatment, and 95% of those on treatment to be virally suppressed.
Clinical evidence has established the scientific merit of the U=U concept for people living with HIV to achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load by taking daily antiretroviral therapy to prevent sexual transmission of HIV.
“The message is simple, straight-forward, data-based, and scientifically proven,” he said. Although awareness is important, barriers have prevented access for people living with HIV to get medications, one barrier being inaction by policy makers. Activists at PAC are leading the advocacy work in this regard to ensure U=U is widely known and that all people living with HIV have information, treatment, care, and services to stay healthy and no longer worry about transmitting HIV.
The goals of U=U are to build a global science-based consensus on U=U, disseminate the widely unknown U=U science, and to advocate for access to quality treatment and care for people living with HIV. U=U is an immediate and effective response to the fear involved with HIV infection and transmission.
“HIV stigma is a public health emergency,” he said. Getting the message out needs to be at the center of stigma-reduction programs. This message must be promoted in communities not only by people living with HIV but those who are HIV negative. PAC has more than 2,000 partners across the world in 105 countries who are working to disseminate the U=U message throughout communities. Achieving U=U will realize a public health benefit, with the potential to drastically reduce the rate of new infections.
“We knew the data [behind U=U] was available but nobody was promoting the message,” he said. “As you all know, science doesn’t have a publicist. People living with HIV on viral suppression can have babies….you can not transmit HIV. Can you imagine the power that this message has for people across the world who are living with HIV who are scared to go live their lives, scared to have a partner, scared to get married, scared to have a baby? Can you imagine the power this message has to keep people in treatment and keep people in care because they know that they are working toward a goal to achieve viral suppression?”
The US Centers for Disease Control has endorsed U=U, stating that “health care providers who treat patients with HIV have an important role in supporting HIV prevention. Talking to your patients about treatment as prevention and the benefits of viral suppression is one of the best things you can do to help them stay healthy and to stop HIV transmission.”
In the end, the U=U agenda is a “win-win” for personal health and global public health that can transform lives and accelerate progress toward ending the HIV epidemic.
Disclosure
Mr. Ighodaro reported no conflicts of interest.