Huge breakthroughs could spell the end for HIV in New Zealand

Since 1988, the world has come together on 1 December to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illnesses. New Zealanders can donate this World AIDS Day by texting “RED” to 849 to instantly donate $3, or contribute online.

This year, there are two special reasons to celebrate

First, latest scientific evidence has concluded that people living with HIV who are successfully treated can no longer pass HIV on to their sexual partners. This is a game changer for HIV prevention. More importantly, this news should be a clarion call to rally against the stigma and discrimination experienced on a daily basis by people living with HIV.

The recent ‘Opposites Attract’ study analysed results of gay and bisexual men living in relationships where one partner is HIV positive and the other is HIV negative. There was not a single HIV transmission in over 17,000 acts of sex without condoms between HIV positive men with an undetectable HIV viral load and their HIV negative partners. These results support those of previous studies with similar findings and have organisations such as UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation supporting the notion that ‘Undetectable equals Untrabnsmittable’ – also known as ‘U=U’.

Second, in a milestone announcement this month, PHARMAC has proposed to fund PrEP, the revolutionary daily pill that an HIV negative person can take to protect themselves from HIV. In announcing the proposal, PHARMAC has said that the use of PrEP by people at high risk of HIV has been associated with major reductions in HIV infections in overseas settings, and this is what would be expected for New Zealand.

“Both these pieces of news are game-changers for HIV prevention. We must use these tools to not only end transmissions of HIV, but to get people talking about HIV again and break down the myths that are still out there,” says NZAF Executive Director Dr Jason Myers.

“HIV stigma and discrimination remain very real for people living with HIV in New Zealand and the success of HIV treatment in reducing infectiousness, as well as the uptake of PrEP, provides a direct challenge to this.”

Volunteers will be on the street in a town near you on World AIDS Day, so please give generously to support the work of HIV organisations this December 1st. All profits from the street collection will be divided evenly between the New Zealand AIDS Foundation and the Wellness Fund, which offers financial assistance to people living with HIV in New Zealand.

Photo By Aji Sutopo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons