The US PEPFAR initiative has brought HIV medication to millions of people globally. Behind this progress are the activists that pressured politicians and companies to put patients over patents.
When antiretroviral therapy is working effectively, HIV cannot be transmitted. This allows people with HIV to live fuller lives without the fear of infecting others.
People with HIV need to take daily medication to keep the virus at bay. A study has found that a new treatment combination could boost immunity and control virus levels even after stopping medication.
The giant leap in the number of people accessing HIV treatment would not have been possible without task shifting from medical doctors to less-specialised cadres such as nurses and midwives.
One of the main challenges remains that diagnostics and drugs for people suffering from advanced HIV aren’t readily available. This group of people is vulnerable to deadly opportunistic infections.
World AIDS Day is Dec. 1. With many advances in preventing and treating the disease, the disease has fallen from top of mind for many. An epidemiologist explains why that could be dangerous.
Professor of medicine and deputy director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the Institute of Infectious Disease and Molecular Medicine, University of Cape Town
Director, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital and Consultant Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity