A recent study shows that Millennials and Gen Z are alarmingly ignorant about HIV.
By Diane Anderson-Minshall
There was a joint report by the Access Prevention Campaign and Merck, which uncovered alarmingly widespread ignorance and stigma about HIV among young people.
The responses from both millennials and Generation Z (a generation we often talk about being more open, inclusive, and diverse than ever) were heartbreaking.
More than a quarter of HIV-negative millennials (between the ages of 23 and 36) say they avoid hugging, talking to, or even being friends with someone living with HIV. Thirty percent avoid social interaction with someone with HIV. One in three Black and Latino millennials also avoid shaking hands or sharing drinks or utensils with someone living with HIV.
Given that one cannot contract HIV through any of those means, these widespread fears are a testament to the lack of up-to-date HIV education.
In the study “Living with HIV: Young Adults and the Fight Ahead,” Generation Z fared the worst. Forty-one percent of those aged 18 to 22 were either “not informed” or only “informed” about HIV.
This is why the work of the Access to Prevention Campaign and its founding director, Bruce Richman, is so critical. Over the past few years, PAC has recruited scientists, doctors, and activists to help spread the now almost universally accepted message that U=U (or undetectable equals untransmittable).
U=U has been endorsed by scientists around the world, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. federal government's health protection agency.
Even so, many people have never heard (or refuse to believe) that people living with HIV who are on treatment cannot transmit HIV once they reach and maintain an undetectable viral load.
Richman has been the driving force behind spreading this message, and he and PAC deserve praise for spearheading the effort to educate the world about one of the most significant medical advances in HIV in years. U=U shatters the stigma and offers a clear path to ending the epidemic.
Plus has been covering Richman's work for nearly a decade, and at this point, I'm proud to call him a friend. But that doesn't diminish the magnitude of what he and dozens of other U=U ambassadors have accomplished. While there's much more to be done, as many of the people profiled in our latest issue will attest, we just want to pause and marvel at where we are now.
If we can make treatment accessible to everyone, and the money to pay for it—a difficult task, I know—most people could reach undetectable levels and never again have to worry about how (or whom) they love.
In: https://www.hivplusmag.com/print-issue/2020/1/24/hiv-education-next-generation