The reality is a mix of yes and no while the facts shared in the latest report by UNAIDS reveal that as a world we are not already on the path, they do show that we can be there if world leaders take bold actions ensuring that the HIV response has the resources it needs.
Progress made in the past decade notwithstanding, there is still a huge gap between the targets set up to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The UNAIDS report- The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads- shows that globally, of the 39.9 million people living with HIV, nearly 25% (9.3 million), are not receiving life-saving treatment, including 660,000 children living with HIV. Globally, 4,000 young women and girls will become infected with HIV every week in 2022.
Develop new HIV prevention options and deliver them equitably
“We have to fill the product introduction gap - accelerate time to regulatory approvals of product introduction to impact; demand creation and programme platforms for prevention; and differentiated and integrated service delivery for people. We must also fill the product development gap - long acting and event driven; user-friendly and developed with users; dual purpose and multi-purpose methods must be our top priority,” says Mitchell Warren, Executive Director of AVAC.
PrEP is one of the new HIV prevention options for HIV-negative people who can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition by taking an antiretroviral medication and the latest addition is the long acting injectable lenacapavir that has been found to be highly effective in preventing HIV in cisgender women as well as in gay, bisexual and transgender people.
Choice matters on multiple levels
Studies have proved that expanding testing and treating and then introducing PrEP has lowered the incidence of HIV in communities that had access to it.
In Warren’s opinion, “We should not forget that biomedical products- whether for prevention or for treatment- exist in behavioural and structural contexts. None of these methods can help if we do not address access and equity. While we develop biomedical products around the pathogen-around the HIV virus- we need to design the programmes around the people. That is what matters and that is how you get to impact.
Rollout of new tools
The deadly delays between developing path breaking health technologies and benefitting those for whom these were developed must end. We have to ensure vaccines convert into vaccinations of the ‘last person in queue’ first - without any delay. Same holds true for the full range of disease prevention, diagnostics, and treatments we have today.
The 5th HIVR4P Conference to be convened in Lima, Peru will bring together around 1500 participants including representatives of key and affected populations in the HIV response to advance scientific knowledge, and enhance scientific and community collaborations to address the challenges and opportunities in HIV prevention.
The author is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service)
