The International AIDS Society (IAS) hosted AIDS 2024 in July, the world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS. The event brought over 10,000 researchers, activists, clinicians, and policymakers from around the globe to Munich, Germany, to advance the HIV response. This included many faculty members and trainees with the UNC Institute for Global Health and Infectious Disease (IGHID).
Highlights of the conference included the release of the UNAIDS 2024 global AIDS report, details on the ‘next Berlin patient,’ and exciting results from the PURPOSE 1 trial of twice-yearly injectable lenacapavir. IGHID researchers were well-represented throughout the IAS conference with oral presentations, posters, and panel discussions.
Clinical Treatment of HIV Comorbidities
Some projects offered new insights into the clinical features and treatment of HIV comorbidities. Dr. Prema Menezes’ team identified highly prevalent multimorbidity among a cohort of older adults aging with HIV, with the type of comorbidities differing by gender. Dr. Jake Pry and the TASKPEN study team at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, co-led by Dr. Michael Herce and Dr. Wilbroad Mutale, explored the use of task-shifting and integration to improve HIV, hypertension, and diabetes treatment efficacy.
Implementation and Ethics of HIV Interventions
Others explored the implementation and ethics of HIV interventions using qualitative methods. Dr. Ramya Kumar, a Fogarty Fellow at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, mentored by Dr. Michael Herce and Dr. Maurice Musheke, explored the perceptions of female sex workers towards long-acting injectable PrEP in Zambia. Hadas Baron of the PREPARE (PRomoting Equity for Pregnant Adolescents in REsearch) team, co-led by Dr. Suzanne Day, presented two posters exploring the perspectives of adolescents in Botswana and Malawi on joining clinical HIV studies during pregnancy, which will inform future guidance for their ethically responsible inclusion in research.
Social Innovation in HIV Research
SESH, a research collaboration between UNC Project-China and Southern Medical University, highlighted social innovations in HIV research. Social innovation is a community-engaged process that leverages the strengths of local communities to improve health and social outcomes. Zhuoheng Yin of the SESH PrEP team presented a poster on an ongoing demonstration project on PrEP distribution through a hybrid clinic-community approach. Liyuan Zhang with the SESH pay-it-forward team presented findings using a co-creation approach to improve integrated HIV/STI testing. Dorian Ho, also with the SESH pay-it-forward team, presented evidence on mutual aid approaches to enhance HIV service delivery. The SESH team also hosted a participatory designathon in the Global Village. The event introduced a WHO/TDR practical guide on participatory health research.
AIDS 2024 emphasized that progress is being made in HIV prevention, treatment, and cure. Further research, funding, and dissemination is needed to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets by 2030.