HIV has changed. In HIV in the UK Today, Dr. Laura Waters gives listeners an introduction to HIV and its evolution from the epidemic in the 80s and 90s to the controllable, manageable condition it is today. Basics are covered: how HIV can be acquired, what a viral load is and how that impacts risk of transmission, and the life-changing message of U=U: undetectable equals untransmissable. Laura and Naomi discuss the UK’s progress of Getting to Zero, and how we can achieve zero new HIV transmissions in 2030 using an already existing toolkit: testing, effective treatment and prevention options.

Finally, Laura takes listeners through the challenges and barriers to Getting to Zero: stigma and bias. Older, heterosexual people - a growing cohort in people living with HIV - are often overlooked for testing and are diagnosed dangerously late. Learn how to change the language you use to address stigma and make healthcare settings more accessible to the people who need it from the People First Charter, and educate your team on how HIV has changed.

"The whole Getting to Zero concept is the idea that we can achieve zero new HIV transmissions. If we get enough people tested, enough people on treatment and in care; therefore undetectable, but also by giving prevention options to people who are at risk of HIV."

"And anyone who's had sex could have acquired HIV. So anyone who's had sex needs to have an HIV test at least once"

Dr. Laura Waters is a HIV & Sexual Health Consultant at Mortimer Market Centre in London, Principal Investigator on a number of antiretroviral trials and formerly the chair of the British HIV Association (BHIVA). Laura chairs and holds a number of advisory roles across national HIV and Sexual Health groups and committees, and is a lecturer at the Institute of Global Health, University College London. A vocal advocate for patient voices and stigma-free access to care, she is also the founder of the People First Charter. Follow along on X/Twitter @drlaurajwaters and @peoplefirst_HIV.

UK-UNB-4748

Jan 2024

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