Civil society in Ukraine rode bicycles to deliver HIV and tuberculosis medications during a fuel shortage during the Russia-Ukraine conflict; if there were no bicycles, they walked.
About 9.7 million people living with HIV globally are still not on antiretroviral therapy (ART); those who achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load by taking ART can’t sexually transmit HIV to others, or U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable).
IAS executive director Birgit Poniatowski says University of Malaya’s Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman brought tenacity to her two-year term leading the IAS through the uncertainty of Covid-19.
CodeBlue editor-in-chief Boo Su-Lyn tells the AIDS 2022 conference that stigma and discrimination in Malaysia – which is seeing rising HIV infections – must be tackled so that people living with HIV can share their stories for better advocacy.
Dr Anthony Fauci says lessons dating back to HIV include the role of asymptomatic infection, drug development, vaccine design, and denialism that causes “unnecessary deaths”.
Winnie Byanyima calls for the decriminalisation of sex workers and sexual minorities, while Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman urges expansion of HIV self-testing programmes.
South African activist Vuyiseka Dubula condemns Canada’s “racism”, while Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman says IAS is deeply upset that many delegates, including IAS staff, couldn’t get Canadian visas to attend AIDS 2022 in Montreal.
Dr Adeeba Kamarulzaman notes that diabetes kills more people than HIV in South Africa and that the burden from NCDs, like hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, is increasing globally.