HIV experts come together to say that HIV care needs to be more than viral load & CD4 counts

Since the advent of effective antiretroviral therapy (ART) in 1996, HIV transmission and AIDS-related mortality have decreased significantly. Despite these achievements, people living with HIV still tend to experience a poorer health and a lower quality of life.

Aiming to achieve the best long-term health outcomes for people living with HIV, a new global multidisciplinary group formed of HIV experts and led by Dr Jeffery Lazarus have developed a consensus statement identifying key issues to be addressed at different levels of healthcare and society.

For example, the healthcare system needs to go beyond the focus on viral suppression and instead provide comprehensive human-centred healthcare to people living with HIV throughout their lives.

"An important advantage of this consensus statement is that it was developed as a result of a thorough process involving quantitative and qualitative data from experts from more than 20 countries," said Dr. Diana Romero.

The Group found that multi-morbidity (a complex collection of diseases), quality of life related to health, as well as stigma and discrimination, remain serious problems for people living with HIV, including those who have achieved suppression of the virus - and in particular for people from key groups.

“These factors can lead to depression, social isolation and barriers to access to health care and various forms of support. Many of these issues are not currently addressed in HIV monitoring, strategies or guidelines," says Dr. Lazarus.

There is sufficient evidence that says that addressing issues such as mental and physical health, reducing stigma, and in many cases increasing housing and food security, is essential to improving the quality of life of people with HIV, the expert group said.

Read the status, in the journal Nature, here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-24673-w