In the 40+ years since HIV was first reported, tremendous efforts by people living with HIV and the wider community have resulted in real progress in tackling the epidemic globally. Thanks to advances in scientific research and development, as well as improvements in HIV education and awareness, we now live in a world where a person living with HIV and on effective treatment can expect to live a long and fulfilling life.
But despite these great leaps, there are still 38 million people living with HIV globally – and not all of them have access to effective treatment. In addition, while attitudes have evolved, and understanding of HIV has generally changed, stigma and misinformation is still an issue, particularly in certain countries. This prevents many people from getting tested and diagnosed, and starting and staying on treatment.
Now more than ever, partnership and collaboration are required if the UN target of ending AIDS by 2030 is to be achieved.
Against that backdrop, ViiV Healthcare’s mission is simple: to leave no person living with HIV behind.
As the only global pharmaceutical company 100% focused on HIV, developing innovative medicines to treat, prevent and hopefully one day cure HIV, is at the heart of ViiV’s efforts. But scientific innovation can only get us so far, and ViiV also recognises the power of partnership - right across the global HIV community - in enabling access to HIV medicines at speed and scale, removing the greatest barriers to HIV treatment and prevention for under-served populations, and tackling stigma where it persists.
ViiV Healthcare’s partnership with the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), a UN-backed public health organisation, is one example of the company’s efforts to make its medicines available where they’re needed most. Through voluntary licensing agreements enabling generic companies to manufacture and sell low-cost versions of ViiV’s medicines, around 21 million people living with HIV across 122 low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) had access to generic formulations, as of the end of 2022. This is at least 80% of people living with HIV who are on anti-retrovirals (ARVs) in LMICs.
Just as vital is working alongside the HIV community to enable and catalyse healthcare systems to better support people living with HIV. Working with people and communities affected by HIV - across Europe, Africa, North America, and Asia - has been at the heart of ViiV’s mission for over 30 years, including through its Positive Action programme. Through Positive Action’s Breakthrough Partnership, for example, ViiV is supporting the goal of ending paediatric AIDS in three priority countries – Mozambique, Nigeria and Uganda – by locating, linking, treating, and retaining mothers and children in care who are vulnerable to HIV transmission or are living with HIV.
While significant progress has been made towards ending the HIV epidemic and related stigma, there is still much more to be done. ViiV remains dedicated to searching for new ways to make HIV a smaller part of people’s lives with the ultimate goal of ending HIV and AIDS.
