The United States Congress, for the first time, officially recognized Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) and the Prevention Access Campaign (PAC) for their efforts in spreading the U=U message through a Congressional Certificate of Recognition written by Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D). The Congressional document was presented during the plenary session on Saturday, September 7, at the United States Conference on AIDS (USCA) in Washington, D.C.
U=U is the Prevention Access Campaign's movement to inform everyone worldwide about the groundbreaking fact that if a person living with HIV is taking effective antiretroviral medication with an undetectable viral load, then that person has a zero chance of sexually transmitting the virus to another person. "Undetectable" means that doctors cannot detect the presence of HIV in the blood; typically below 20 copies per milliliter of blood.
The move took everyone by surprise, especially the Access Prevention Campaign and U=U founder Bruce Richman. Deondre Bernard Moore, a community mobilizer with the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, was on stage with Bruce Richman as he made his closing remarks when, suddenly, Moore crawled under his chair and surprised everyone by presenting the Congressional certificate of recognition to Richman, who accepted the document on behalf of everyone involved in the Access Prevention Campaign and U=U.
“I first had the idea after realizing that no other government official (at least at the federal level) had publicly acknowledged the U=U movement and what it meant to us,” Moore said. “So I contacted my dear friend, Remmington Belford, who is an aide in the office of Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee in DC. I told him what the movement and the science behind U=U means to me and the other 1.2 million Americans living with HIV, and asked him to share the information with the congresswoman.”
Moore said Belford called back to say that Representative Jackson Lee was going to officially recognize the movement and would like to give Moore an official certificate of recognition from Congress.
TheBody reached out to Representative Jackson Lee for comment. “Too many in the LGBTQ community face a vicious cycle as a result of their identity,” he said. “That’s why it’s important to remove stigma from the realm of acceptable behavior in society. That’s also why I’m proud to have drafted the congressional resolution commemorating this important campaign. I have been a dedicated advocate on behalf of people living with HIV/AIDS and will continue to be so as long as I have a voice in our public discourse.”
Without a doubt, Congressional recognition will be an important tool for adding legitimacy to the U=U movement. The Congressional certificate of recognition is also not mild in its language. The document is full of strong words, such as the following:
"Whereas U=U is a growing global community of advocates, activists, researchers and more than 900 community partners from nearly 100 countries who are uniting to spread the revolutionary but largely unknown fact that people living with HIV who are undetectable (less than 40 copies/ml) do not sexually transmit HIV; and Whereas, the U=U message is an unprecedented opportunity to transform the lives of millions of people with and affected by HIV and radically transform the field of HIV prevention by reducing the shame and fear of sexual transmission and increasing the chances of conceiving children without alternative means of insemination…"
The certificate presentation was emotional for everyone. Many cried, and many more rushed to the stage to record the moment on their phones.
“I was deeply moved, as you could probably see from my tears… and amazed,” Richman said. “I felt so grateful. I’m so happy that the community that brought us to this place is receiving such significant recognition in the United States. This includes those who have been working so hard in the U=U movement and those who have been fighting for the health and human rights of people living with HIV since the beginning of the epidemic. I’m so proud of what we accomplished together! I’m amazed and grateful.”
“Celebrating and recognizing the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) campaign is important and a moment that requires recognition,” said Jackson Lee. “Standing up for those who are undetectable and non-transmittable is the right and moral thing to do because, collectively, the act deprives those who wish to stigmatize the disease.”
TheBody asked Moore how difficult it was to keep this a secret from Richman. Moore said, “Once I received [the certificate] on Wednesday of the week the USCA started, it was very difficult to keep quiet about it,” he recalled. “I kept it in my hotel room, under my bed. Then, on the day of the U=U celebration, I snuck in a few minutes before everyone else arrived and put it under my chair on stage, where no one else would notice or see it. And just before it was time to leave the stage, I decided to go ahead and present it publicly.”
We're so glad you did it, Deondre.
By Aaron Anderson The body pro