Background
Two years ago, NAM/aidsmap and European AIDS Treatment Group (EATG), with the support of a number of other organisations, released a Community consensus statement on the use of antiretroviral therapy in preventing transmission. This went through a year’s worth of development and was released as a sign-on statement.
This new statement is a simpler, more fundamental and more widely co-authored development of that. It is a joint initiative of AVAC, EATG, the Global Forum on Men who have Sex with Men & HIV (MSMGF), the Global Network of People living with HIV (GNP+), HIV i-Base, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and NAM/aidsmap.
Why a new statement?
The science surrounding the use of antiretrovirals to prevent HIV, as well as policy and activism have moved rapidly over the last two years. In particular, there is now broad consensus for the first time that antiretroviral therapy is both of general medical benefit to people with HIV and, if provided globally, could drastically reduce the HIV infection rate worldwide. In addition, there is increasing awareness of and debate about the use of antiretroviral drugs as PrEP, to prevent infection in HIV-negative people at the highest risk.
We are convinced that this statement is necessary and has the potential to become a cornerstone of patient rights within the field of HIV. We hope that a widely-endorsed statement can be used as an advocacy tool and incorporated within guidelines so that it has a lasting impact.
We wanted to make sure the statement is
- Written by experts including individuals and professionals from around the world.
- More inclusive of, representative of and relevant to the HIV community.
- Shorter and less technical to ensure wider understanding, engagement and uptake
- Useful with a clearer proposition about how and where it can be used.
What can I do?
If you agree, sign up and share this with your friends and colleagues. The more people who join in and sign up, the greater chance we have of effecting change.