PAC & partners release U=U global research priorities
At the International AIDS Conference in July 2024, as part of a new U=U Research Initiative, the inaugural U=U Research Forum was convened, bringing together community members, researchers, funders, and other stakeholders to: (1) Consider the current landscape of U=U research; (2) Establish global priorities for research related to U=U and its translation to programmatic delivery; and (3) Build professional connections to collaboratively address these priorities.
As an output of this meeting, we are delighted to share the first global U=U research priorities:
- To examine the impact of U=U messaging on clinical, public health, and cost effectiveness outcomes
- To identify low-cost interventions to promote U=U acceptance among policymakers, healthcare providers, and other stakeholders integral to U=U message delivery
- To collaborate on parallel studies across multiple countries/contexts simultaneously to improve research efficiency, comparability of study findings, and strength of evidence
- To expand research on U=U messaging and psychosocial outcomes to priority populations beyond sexual minority men (e.g., heterosexual women)
- To address limited and inequitable access to HIV information (e.g., U=U) and resources (e.g., antiretroviral therapy)
- To determine how to communicate new information (e.g., “negligible” risk among people living with HIV whose viral load is 200-1000 copies/mL) without confounding the U=U message or reversing associated advances.
In approaching these priorities, PAC and the U=U Research Initiative remain committed to the overarching principles of: equitably representing people living with and affected by HIV, persons from Low- and Middle-Income Countries including the Global South, and other historically underrepresented individuals in all stages of research; upholding human rights in scientific endeavors; and elevating community-led projects and initiatives.
PAC and the U=U Research Initiative call for the global U=U research community to embed these priorities and principles in your research agendas to enhance quality of life for all people living with HIV and to end HIV transmission. More information about the U=U Research Forum may be found here.
The U=U Research Initiative Committee:
Bruce Richman, Prevention Access Campaign, USA
David Kalwicz, George Washington University, USA
Dorina Onoya, Health Economics and Epidemiology Research Office, South Africa
Jacob Bor, Boston University, USA
Kennedy Mupeli, Centre for Youth of Hope, Botswana
Lucy Stackpool-Moore, ASHM and Watipa, Australia
Mandisa Dukashe, South African National AIDS Council, South Africa
Ramona Bhatia, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USA
Sarah Calabrese, George Washington University, USA
Gilead Sciences, Inc. and ViiV Healthcare provided financial support for the event.
