Sight and Sound Technology’s Post

On World AIDS Day, we often hear messages like "End the stigma" and "Zero cases of HIV." While these are important goals, it’s time to move beyond the usual soundbites. As the dedicated volunteers at Gay Men's Health Collective remind us, we need to focus on the real steps required to create meaningful change. This year, let’s work together to truly end the stigma - not just through words, but through action. Here’s how we can all make a difference: * Share the facts about U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable). * Highlight how stigma affects people living with HIV. * Normalize conversations about HIV. * Correct misinformation and spread accurate, inclusive knowledge. Words matter. By choosing empathy, inclusivity, and unity over division, we can create a supportive and informed community. Let’s come together - not as separate groups, but as a united front - to end stigma and make a lasting impact. Video Credit: https://lnkd.in/eMrGFU_t #WorldAIDSDay #HIV #AIDS #UequalsU #CantPassItOn

Today, on World AIDS Day, we acknowledge the global journey in the fight against HIV/AIDS and acknowledge the vital role of technology in revolutionising healthcare. In South Africa, where the public sector serves as a lifeline for millions, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) has become a cornerstone of health advancements. With innovative tools like electronic health records, mobile health applications, and data-driven decision-making systems, ICT is improving access to treatment, tracking disease outbreaks, and has the potential to provide access to critical services, and to empower individuals with knowledge about HIV prevention and care. This World AIDS Day, we reaffirm our commitment to innovation and collaboration in creating a future where no one is left behind. Together, we can harness the power of technology to fight the HIV epidemic. #WorldAIDSDay #ICTInHealthcare #EndHIV #DigitalTransformation #SITAImpact

We share the same goal as millions around the world: to end the #HIV epidemic. To be successful, it will take a global response, utilising all the resources available to us at every level of society. On this #WorldAIDSDay, we reflect on the progress made and the work still to be done. This year’s theme, "Collective Action: Sustain and Accelerate HIV Progress," calls for #collaboration across governments, organisations, and communities to address the ongoing challenges and to build a future free from HIV. Let’s continue to unite in our efforts, raise #awareness, and push for stronger action to ensure no one is left behind in the fight against HIV.

👏 “Systematic racism is a dominant force in research practices, and studies pertaining to pre-exposure prophylaxis are no exception”. It’s a bold way to open an article, but it captures the essence of existing PrEP inequities in the US. 🚨Grounding Current HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Uptake was published recently in the American Academy of HIV Medicine in “At the Forefront”, highlighting how important our discussion of cost around PrEP stems from a lack of representation in discrete choice experiments. 🧠 Food for thought: when a majority of White participants are researched to assess WHAT factors contribute to PrEP uptake, the majority of solutions, such as low cost, will originate from this White dominated lens. This leaves out the viewpoints of those were disproportionate burdened by HIV in the US. 📖 Take a read: https://lnkd.in/eYRHiApi 🗣️ Speak up on what matters to make movement and momentum around PrEP! #publication #alert #HIV #healthequity #equity #research #US #health #publichealth

Don’t lie anymore, folks. Take the RIGHTS path, because it’s the only way to move forward. This year’s World AIDS Day theme, “Take the RIGHTS Path,” resonates deeply. It’s a universal call to prioritize human rights in every aspect of life—from healthcare to workplaces, from policy to practice. True progress demands justice, inclusion, and equity at every level for everyone but, laws, policies, and practices that punish, discriminate, or stigmatize—whether against women, key populations, or marginalized communities—create barriers to HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care. In 2024, we have also witnessed remarkable scientific breakthroughs in the HIV response. New long-acting prevention medicines offer real hope of ending HIV transmission, showcasing the very best of human ingenuity. Yet, as science exemplifies the best of humanity, we are also living through times when the worst of humanity is starkly exposed—where dehumanization and suffering persist, and where one life is deemed more valuable than another. Approximately 9.3 million people living with HIV are not receiving treatment. Marginalized groups—the LGBTQ+ community, people who use drugs, women, and girls—are denied equal access to health information, medicines, and support, as if their circumstances render them less deserving. Alarmingly, 44% of all new HIV infections worldwide are among women and girls. Gay men and other men who have sex with men face a risk of acquiring HIV that is 23 times higher than the general population. The RIGHTS path, because it’s not just the theme of the day—it’s the only way move forward. Source: https://lnkd.in/eV4fgFiR #WorldAIDSDay2024 #TakeTheRIGHTSPath #UNAIDS

How do we get there? In an age of instant access through smartphones and the click of a button, we must reflect on how we utilize technology to ensure continued support, care, and treatment for adolescents and young adults living with HIV. Here in Zimbabwe, with the exciting advent of Starlink internet access, we have a game-changer for service delivery, particularly information dissemination. Reaching remote areas becomes a reality, enabling us to effectively communicate the critical message of U=U (Undetectable: when the level of HIV in a person's blood is so low that it cannot be detected by a lab test =Untransmittable: a person with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit HIV to their sexual partner.) I'm proud to champion the use of digital platforms to empower peer counselors. By providing them with accessible resource materials through digital tools, we empower them to offer sustained and effective peer counseling support. This is a call to action for everyone working in HIV care and support – let's leverage innovative technologies to reach our young people! I'm honored to be part of the Zvandiri, which utilizes various digital spaces to connect with children, adolescents, and young adults living with HIV. #Let's make work simple (Photo: Captured in Cote d'Ivoire during a digitalization process for peer counselor's data collection tools)

The global fight for #humanrights is inextricably linked to the global fight against #HIV/AIDS. A powerful new report just released by UNAIDS details how ending HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 is 100% achievable if government, community and business leaders recommit to a human rights-centered approach to HIV/AIDS.  Access to #healthcare is a human right and these rights are under severe political and legal attack across the globe, fueled by hate, ignorance, online #misinformation and disinformation. UNAIDS states "the substantial progress that has been made in the HIV response is directly linked to progress in protecting human rights.......[the] evidence is clear that approaches grounded in human rights achieve superior HIV prevention and treatment service outcomes, reduce inequalities in service access, and accelerate progress towards ending AIDS.” Check out their website for the full report and how to take action: https://lnkd.in/gBeM_K7K

Here is my latest article that is quite timely as communicable disease clinicians, researchers, and advocates begin traveling to München for AIDS 2024. As the FLiRT strain of COVID has taken over North America and Western Europe, people with HIV and those communities most impacted by HIV are feeling the brunt of these pandemics. And mpox is bubbling up again with men within the Democratic Republic of the Congo being -- by far -- the most impacted. But this time, it is much more deadly. And unforgettable, we aren't seeing massive awareness to this round of mpox for all the predictable and expected reasons. Let's be clear. We have the tools (vaccines) to greatly reduce their impact. We must ensure those of greatest need have the greatest access, specifically Black people with HIV who are (or recently have been) unhoused. #mpox #COVID19 #HIV #EndHIV #HealthEquity #BIPOC #LGBTQ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Equity Is the Word, LLC Demetre Daskalakis Keletso Makofane, MPH, PhD University of California, San Francisco Juan Michael Porter II TheBody.com International AIDS Society #AIDS2024

As we reflect on the state of #HIV and #womenshealth during National Women's Health Week, despite groundbreaking innovations across the HIV research continuum, women, girls, and gender-diverse people continue to be disproportionately impacted by the virus. 🎆 The National Institutes of Health Office of AIDS Research (OAR) and ORWH in collaboration with partners across the #NIH recently reaffirmed our shared commitment to advancing science at the intersection of HIV and women’s health by publishing a notice of information (NOT-OD-24-117) that outlines a comprehensive set of research opportunities that center the health needs of women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the lifespan. The notice celebrates women's voices by incorporating key feedback from community engagement (https://lnkd.in/ez4Dzqgg) and responses from a request for information (https://lnkd.in/evzQgMDU) that encouraged community groups and advocates, people with HIV, researchers, and partners across the federal government to share their perspectives on the most significant topics for research related to HIV and women. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/evzQgMDU

On Friday I had the absolute honour of attending the HIV Prevention England 2024 conference in London. The vulnerability and bravery that the speakers brought when sharing their stories of living with HIV was remarkable and I felt very lucky to be in the room listening to them. There was a real magic about the day. The positivity and hopefulness of everyone there was mixed with a deep determination and sheer drive to achieve the goal of 0 new transmissions by 2030. In terms of my work, I’m relatively new to the world of HIV, but I feel proud to be an ally and to have the opportunity to learn more about this community. Here’s a wee summary of my takeaways from the conference: ✨Positive speakers - the people standing in front of audiences sharing their story, are going to be the beating heart of the drive to reduce stigma around HIV ✨For training and education to really connect with people, it needs to be created with the input of those it's meant for, making it more inclusive and well-rounded ✨Peer education can be a powerful tool in raising awareness of HIV and PrEP, especially amongst women from black and Caribbean heritage communities ✨The language in some current campaigns could be alienating some groups, particularly heterosexual men and women. Reframing prevention as a form of self-care and empowerment instead of risk management could be the way to engage those the current campaigns are missing ✨To get to 2030 the agism, transphobia, & racism that exists in the healthcare system should be confronted #HIVPreventionEngland2024 #HIVprevention #itstartswithus #terrencehigginstrust