From stigma to support: Ending HIV in Europe by 2030 

With a new European Commission, a new European Parliament and several elections across the continent this year, campaigners are at work to ensure that the needs and wellbeing of people with HIV remain high on political health agendas.

HIV is no longer a death sentence, thanks to the development of innovative and highly effective therapies. But the fact remains that, to end the epidemic, HIV still needs political attention.

Many people with HIV, for example, are aging, and this presents new challenges when it comes to the treatment and the specific care needs of each patient, says Mario Cascio, Quality of Life program chair of the European AIDS Treatment Group, who has been living with HIV for more than 40 years.

EU institutions and member states must play a role through regulations, policies, and by coordinating their efforts.”

Mario Cascio, Quality of Life program chair of the European AIDS Treatment Group

“Millions of people living with HIV for years are at risk of developing age-related health conditions at a higher rate and at a younger age than the general population,” he says. “We need to invest in the prevention of comorbidities and make sure that our health care systems are adequately equipped with people-centered, integrated care to respond to these emerging needs.”

What’s more, he warns, the world needs to be alert to the growing issue of resistance to some types of medications, which could make it much harder for patients to be treated — an issue that was highlighted by the World Health Organization in February this year.

Key to meeting these two challenges, Cascio says, will be continuing investment in innovation in anti-HIV treatments and a greater political commitment to ending the epidemic.

Europe has aligned itself with the UNAIDS goal of ending HIV by 2030 and political momentum is building at the European Union level, with several calls to action being made in recent months. These include a joint letter from several HIV-related organizations and a letter from a cross-party group of Members of the European Parliament addressed to the European Commission, and a call-to-action statement to EU27 health ministers from a number of countries at the last EU Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council health meeting.

EU policymakers are calling for the adoption of a range of policies, including testing; rapid linkage and retention to innovative care and prevention options; people-centered integrated care, which takes into consideration the needs and wellbeing of people living with HIV; and measures to reduce stigma and discrimination. The bloc’s commitment to ending HIV was also reaffirmed in June this year by EU leaders meeting at the G7 summit in Italy.

Cascio acknowledges that progress has been made but says campaigners must continue to push for more, calling on EU institutions and member states to coordinate their efforts and enact policies at European and national levels.

“We need an ambitious EU action plan to complement and support national efforts for the next five years and beyond,” he says. “We need prioritization, innovation, sustained investment, differentiated service-delivery models, strong collaboration and community involvement.”

And, he says, the time to act is now.

“We can pave the way to bring dignity to the millions of people still affected by and suffering from HIV, and protect the community by ending transmissions by 2030 once for all,” he says, “It is not often that we have the opportunity to end an epidemic. With HIV, we do, and if we act now, we can make it happen.”

Watch our video to hear Mario’s personal history with the disease and his journey to become an HIV activist.  

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