Alex Kalomparis, vice president public affairs, Australia, Canada & Europe | via Gilead Sciences
A new European legislative term is starting with ambitious plans and ideas being discussed. There are also high expectations from Europe’s citizens on those areas that matter the most to them, like healthcare.
The European institutions have reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), especially SDG 3 on ensuring healthy lives and promoting wellbeing for all, at all ages. In this context, the HIV/AIDS epidemic is unfinished business. The EU must take steps in this critical decade ahead to stop the virus once and for all.
More than three decades have passed since the arrival of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, which ignited a worldwide response and spawned an impassioned community with a shared sense of mission to come together, innovate and fight back against the disease.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is unfinished business. The EU must take steps in this critical decade ahead to stop the virus once and for all.
The HIV scientific journey has been extraordinary, completely transforming the life prospects not only of those infected with the virus, but also those at risk of contracting it. Being HIV positive is no longer a death sentence, it’s a chronic, manageable condition with life expectancy for those infected similar to the general population. Yet, the fight is not over. New infections are rising in many regions across Europe.
Last month’s Fast Track Cities conference held in London clearly outlined that the global community has the tools to meaningfully address new HIV infections. Many European countries are on track to meet the 90-90-90 targets established by UNAIDS in December 2013. The aim being to diagnose 90 percent of all HIV-positive people, provide antiretroviral therapy to suppress the virus and stop progression of the disease for 90 percent of those diagnosed and to achieve viral suppression for 90 percent of those treated. The target is a milestone towards the SDG of eliminating HIV/AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
London, with a large proportion of the U.K.’s HIV population, reported it had gone well beyond the UNAIDS targets. The city’s focus now is on zero new infections, zero HIV-related deaths and zero stigma.
Despite the remarkable progress achieved to date, there are stark differences among Western and Eastern countries in the scale of progress in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In this two-speed Europe, Western European countries are generally on track to meet the UNAIDS targets for 2020. More efforts are needed however as important gaps remain. For example, in 2017 late diagnoses represented 43 percent of all new diagnoses in England, 56 percent in Italy and 47.8 percent in Spain. Western Europe should now be looking to raise the level of ambition and focus on ending the epidemic entirely.
This is no time for complacency, we need focused and impactful actions.
But the Eastern European region is characterized by significant variation in progress. Looking at recent data from the UNAIDS, the number of new infections in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) in 2018 was 150,000 (28 percent higher than in 2010), and access to available therapies remains lower than in most other regions. Except for a few countries, the Eastern region is lagging behind in meeting the UNAIDS targets.
Too often, due to stigma and lack of awareness, communities living with or at risk of HIV — migrants, men who have sex with men, drug users and the trans community — are disproportionately affected and are not accessing the support they need to live healthy and productive lives. This is no time for complacency, we need focused and impactful actions tailored to addressing the specific challenges in the Eastern region.
There are stark differences among Western and Eastern countries in the scale of progress.
Partnership is key to create change
To address the challenges in Eastern Europe, and ensure no one is left behind in the global effort to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Gilead Sciences and the Elton John AIDS Foundation recently announced their partnership on a ground-breaking initiative called RADIAN.
via the Elton John AIDS Foundation – EJAF
As stated by Daniel O’Day, chairman and chief executive officer of Gilead Sciences: “Gilead and the Elton John AIDS Foundation share a vision to end the HIV epidemic. Through RADIAN, we aim to reach marginalized populations in the EECA region and work with local organizations to address some of the challenges they face.
Gilead has committed to invest up to $25 million in RADIAN, which aims to meaningfully address new HIV infections and deaths from AIDS-related illnesses in Eastern Europe, as well as Central Asia, through focused action, investment and resourcing to improve the quality of prevention and care for people at risk of, or living with, HIV in the region.
Sir Elton John, founder of the Elton John AIDS Foundation, added: “I’m delighted that the Foundation is once again working with Gilead through RADIAN to provide much-needed support and funding to reverse trends and reach some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Together, we can create change, save lives and ensure no one is left behind in the fight to end the epidemic.”
Together, we can create change, save lives and ensure no one is left behind in the fight to end the epidemic.
The initiative consists of two elements, RADIAN’s Model Cities program and its Unmet Need fund. By adopting a dual-track program, RADIAN can direct resources to communities in need that are immediately ready to scale interventions, while simultaneously building capacity in others.
Best practices and learnings from the local implementation of RADIAN will be used as a blueprint towards helping create change across the region. By working together, we hope to create change and we welcome others to join the RADIAN partnership as it progresses.
via Gilead Sciences
Together we can stop the virus
To put an end to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, efforts are needed from all stakeholders. We at Gilead are committed to ensuring access to our medicines while continuing to innovate and work relentlessly to find a cure. But European policymakers can also play a critical role in moving faster towards elimination.
We believe a European action plan is needed to support member states in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of eliminating HIV/AIDS by 2030.
Only by setting concrete and timely policy measures to support and encourage member states to strengthen their efforts in the fight against HIV, will we be able to finally bridge the east-west gap and move as One Europe toward the end of the epidemic.
About Gilead Sciences
Gilead Sciences has been a leading innovator for 30 years, working to help treat and prevent HIV and to drive research that may one day lead to finding a cure for HIV. Despite tremendous advances in the field, HIV is still an epidemic with a disproportionate impact among the most marginalized populations. Through our scientific efforts, community support programs and partnerships with leading health organizations, we’re continuing to break down barriers and help strengthen public health systems — efforts critical to ending the HIV epidemic once and for all.
About the Elton John AIDS Foundation
The Elton John AIDS Foundation is one of the foremost independent AIDS charities in the world. At the Foundation, we believe AIDS can be beaten. We act on that belief by raising funds for evidence-based frontline programs and policies and speaking out with honesty and compassion about the realities of people’s lives. Sir Elton John created the Foundation in 1992. Since then, through hard work and with the help of our network of kind and generous friends and supporters, the Foundation has raised more than $450 million globally to combat stigma, prevent infections, provide treatment and services, and motivate governments to end AIDS. Join us in speaking out, taking action and continuing the fight against this worldwide pandemic so that no one is left behind.
Job number 001/BE/19-09//1571
October 2019
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