Fenway Health is proud to announce that we have joined the Prevention Access Campaign‘s Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) initiative as a Community Partner. U=U is a growing global community of HIV advocates, activists, researchers, and over 870 Community Partners from nearly 100 countries uniting to clarify and disseminate the revolutionary but largely unknown fact that people living with HIV on effective treatment do not sexually transmit HIV.
A plethora of research shows that when a person living with HIV is on effective treatment, it will reduce the level of HIV to “undetectable” levels which protects their health and makes them incapable of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. As a prevention strategy, this is often referred to as Treatment as Prevention.
As outlined by U=U:
- Community partners agree with the scientific consensus statement “Risk of Sexual Transmission of HIV from a Person Living with HIV who has an Undetectable Viral Load.” It has been endorsed by leading HIV experts and researchers from around the world.
- Community partners agree we can comfortably say that a person living with HIV who is on ART and has a sustained undetectable viral load for at least six months does not transmit HIV to sexual partners.
- Community partners agree that the health and prevention benefits of viral suppression are platforms to underscore the importance of universal access to treatment and care for all people living with HIV worldwide.
- Community partners agree that treatment is a personal choice, that treatment is first and foremost for personal health, that there are unjust barriers to accessing treatment, that not all people living with HIV will achieve an undetectable viral load, and there is no place for stigmatizing anyone living with HIV at any viral load.
We are excited to be a part of this important initiative and join the U=U global community!
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