Within this theme we will discuss the new and ‘in pipeline’ HIV prevention and treatment therapeutics and diagnostics as well as the policies and research opportunities for people living with HIV linked to these innovations. Globally, only 52% of children living with HIV have access to treatment and nine million people living with HIV are not yet on treatment. According to UNAIDS, in 2022, 630,000 people died of AIDS-related illnesses and 1.7 million were newly infected with HIV. This is despite what we know will end new infections and end AIDS-related deaths. Faced with the realities of our evolving lived experiences and longer life expectancy, new challenges are emerging of managing HIV in older populations. Living 2024 will discuss the complex and intersecting issues associated with HIV and aging.

This theme will provide an opportunity to hear the lived experience from communities, learn from professionals/experts and develop community consensus and an advocacy agenda on what sustainable access to treatment and ending AIDS deaths means from key populations.

The AIDS response is at a pivotal time. Progress on the Global Goal to end AIDS by 2030 is off track. UNAIDS is leading the HIV sustainability agenda along with other partners with countries coming together in 2024 to articulate the pathway to realizing their own sustainable HIV responses to 2030 and beyond. GNP+ together with ICW, Y+ Global and the global key population networks are working together on a complementary activity dubbed “The future of the AIDS Movement”. Sessions in this theme will take stock of the impact of community leadership and engagement in the HIV response, reflect on key strategies for enduring engagement of people living with HIV in national and regional sustainability frameworks including the ongoing development and implementation processes. The People Living with HIV Community Charter will outline key tasks and commitments of the community’s role in the sustainability of the HIV response at country, regional and global levels.

HIV criminalization, as well as stigma and discrimination remain a persistent and pernicious challenge for people living with HIV, limiting access to treatment and the realization of optimal quality of life. Despite commitments of UN Member States to the 2021 HIV Political Declaration to create an enabling legal environment, progress in many countries has stalled or even reversed. The possibility is remote of achieving the targets of fewer than 10% of people living with HIV and key populations experiencing stigma and discrimination by 2025 and fewer than 10% of countries with punitive laws and policy environments that impede access to services. Similarly, there are still too many countries with laws and regulations that restrict the freedom of movement of people living with HIV just because of their HIV status.
The Global PLHIV Stigma Index report found a staggering 88% of people living with HIV experience internalized stigma, signaling the critical need to address mental health needs of people living with HIV.

Intergenerational fireside chats that will focus on “ Handing over to a new generation of leaders in the HIV and sexual and reproductive health rights (SRHR) movement”. These conversations will explore the journeys of current leaders in this space and their aspirations for young and emerging leaders. The AIDS response is ever evolving; more young people living with HIV must sustain all the gains of the AIDS movement from those seasoned activists with experience and lessons learnt throughout the journey.

The handover of the “button stick” has to be intentional and real conversations are critical to address the key questions on how young activists engage in the civic space, how to balance and harmonize a younger person’s agenda with broader existing HIV response and what does “handing over” in practice look like.

At an individual level, U=U can have significant benefits for the mental and physical wellbeing of people living with HIV, engendering a sense of optimism about living with HIV long-term, and reducing anxieties about onward HIV transmission. U=U can be a powerful tool for reducing HIV-related stigma and discrimination, including experiences of self-stigma among people living with HIV. U=U education accelerates each of the United Nation’s 95-95-95 global targets by improving testing, treatment and prevention outcomes, and is a clarion call for universal access as scaling-up U=U yields significant public health, societal and economic benefit for countries. There is a need for coordinated and collaborative action across all stakeholders, including international organisations, local and national governments and policymakers, researchers, advocates, and grassroots organisations to make U=U accessible for all. 

There is an urgent need to address the structural barriers to HIV care and treatment access, including policies that not only seek to improve treatment availability, but that also work to reduce poverty, eliminate discrimination and stigma, and improve food security. Without prioritizing the social and medical needs of those who are most vulnerable and marginalized, the full potential for U=U to transform lives and accelerate an end to the epidemic will remain unreleased. 

Sessions in this area will explore the challenges and barriers to the awareness, understanding and application of U=U programs, policies and strategies and will celebrate an anticipated US CDC Division of Global HIV and TB U=U resource, created in partnership with the community, for implementing and scaling U=U.