Acting Up In Amsterdam

The 22nd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2018) was held in Amsterdam between July 23 and 27. This year’s theme, ‘Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges’, drew attention to the need of rights-based approaches to more eff ectively reach key populations. AIDS 2018 aimed to promote the human rights of particularly vulnerable communities, such as people living with HIV, displaced populations, men who have sex with men, people in prisons and other closed settings, people who use drugs, sex workers, transgender people, women and girls and young people, and to collaborate in fighting the disease beyond country borders.

27 year-old Robbie Lawlor, a HIV activist and a member of ACT UP Dublin attended the conference. “It was so encouraging to see people, including myself, who are most aff ected by HIV take charge and highlight global health inequities to key political stakeholders,” he says. “I left angry, fired up, inspired and ready to keep taking action.”

From Bill Clinton to U=U, Robbie fills us in on his most powerful moments from the largest global health gathering in the world.

UNDETECTABLE = UNTRANSMITTABLE

“New research revealed at the conference showed that there were no cases of HIV being passed on in a study of 76,000 cases of gay sex, where the HIV-positive person had an undetectable viral load as the result of having treatment. This confirmed a campaign widely backed by HIV/AIDS groups that ‘Undetectable = Untransmittable’ (U=U) for men having gay sex.

Hundreds of people took to the streets of Amsterdam to celebrate the further reinforcement of the message that U=U, and it was such a powerful moment for me personally. I have had condomless sex with my HIV-negative boyfriend for years, safe in the knowledge that my HIV cannot be passed on. The march was a milestone for me, as the world is now becoming more united under the U=U message. It was the validation that people living with HIV needed.”

AIDS ISN’T WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE

“Activists, including myself, took to the waters to highlight that both time and funding is running out to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of ending AIDS by 2030. joined in on the action, led by STOPAIDS and the Health Global Access Project (Health GAP), as we steered a canal boat under the Amsterdam Skinny Bridge with a banner reminding the public that ‘AIDS Isn’t Water Under the Bridge’.

There is still a $6bn funding gap and we can’t aff ord to continue this dangerous complacency. The same rings true for Ireland as a donor country. If we don’t act now, we will begin to see reversed trends in new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths.”

CATWALK FOR POWER

“The Catwalk for Power, Resilience and Hope – an initiative started by women with HIV in London for International Women’s Day 2018 – went global with a workshop at the conference. “Medically, clinically, politically and socially; the world only cares about us when we are pregnant,” they assert. ‘We are not seen as autonomous women, but as vectors to babies’. This was a powerful message sent out about societal attitudes towards women living with HIV and how this disempowers and silences them.

In Ireland, women account for a quarter of all new HIV diagnosis and yet we find it difficult to get any women to speak openly about their status. We must work together to create an Ireland where women living with HIV can proclaim, ‘I am here. I am seen. am power’.”

SEX WORKERS INTERRUPT BILL CLINTON’S SPEECH

Sex workers continually brought the criminalisation of their work to the table at AIDS 2018. They highlighted not only how it increases their risk of contracting HIV but also the barriers they face in accessing treatment and appropriate healthcare.

President Bill Clinton, who was providing a keynote address, had his speech interrupted by sex workers who put to him three questions: ‘When will you back the decriminalisation of sex workers?’, ‘When will you back the decriminalisation of drug users?’ and ‘Is San Francisco the best place to host the 2020 International AIDS Conference?’ Clinton did address one of these questions, stating: “You’ll be glad they held the conference in San Francisco”.

It is clear that Trump’s America is not welcoming to key populations. Sex workers, drug users, people from low income countries and many more will find the conference inaccessible. The AIDS 2020 conference will deny entry to the people who most thing is clear, workers unified voices sent shockwaves throughout the conference.”i

BAD PHARMA TOUR

“The Bad Pharma Tour, a walking tour through ‘the rich suburbia of AIDS 2018’ had one aim; to discover the truth behind ‘big pharma lies’.

Treatment activists stormed the conference booths of pharma giants and used song, facts and glitter to get their points of pharma greed across. Shocking statistics of pharma greed were shouted from the top of our voices, and I’ll share one example with you: Sofosbuvir, a cure for HEP C, was discovered by an employee at Pharmaset, a company funded by tax payers. Gilead bought Pharmaset and the patent of Sofosbuvir for $11bn. Gilead made up the $11 billion in the first quarter from their stock prices before they even sold a single pill of Sofosbuvir. Since 2014, Gilead has made $66 billion dollars in sales. The cost to treat all $71 million with Hep C plus re-treating the ten per cent who fail at generic prices across the world – basically eradication – would be $40 billion. Oh, and less than five per cent have been treated for that $60 billion.

ACT UP Dublin is a diverse, non-partisan group united in anger and committed to direct action to end the HIV crisis, www.actupdublin.com, @Robbie_Lawlor