In the 1980s, the second pandemic to hit in the second half of the 20th century was announced. The first ten years of the HIV pandemic were marked by high morbidity. Without drugs, the likelihood of developing the final stage of the virus, known as AIDS, was too high. Activism was one of the essential factors in getting the drugs approved, as scientific research was done hand in hand with the people who demanded these studies. Forty years later, the virus can be controlled with a drug, known as PrEP, that is more than 90-95% effective. This means that people with HIV can live a rigorously normal life, so they have gone from being patients to people living with the virus.
The World Health Organisation not only recommended the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for people with HIV. To prevent HIV, it also recommended that people at higher risk of contracting the virus should take the medication. However, taking the medication does not mean stopping the use of contraception, as the pill does not prevent other sexually transmitted diseases such as gonorrhoea, syphilis or genital herpes. Also, UNODC's global HIV programme supports countries to achieve universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support for drug users, as well as comprehensive HIV services for prisoners.
Today there are still people who believe that HIV is transmitted by casual contact with an HIV-infected person, or that HIV is only transmitted to LGBTI people. However, the virus can be acquired by anyone through blood or body fluids such as semen, vaginal secretions or breast milk; it is not transmitted through saliva, tears or sweat. It is also important to understand the difference between HIV and AIDS: not everyone with HIV
has AIDS, but everyone with AIDS has HIV.
Despite the progress that has been made in recent years, society today continues to stigmatise the issue. Lack of information and sex as a taboo are the main obstacles to preventing and adequately treating HIV. There is still a need for a socially supportive response, not only for people living with HIV, but also for the prevention of HIV and other infections. And when we talk about prevention, it is not only about using condoms, but also about having a space where you can sit down, be accompanied in the experience of your sexual health and know what to do in case you have a sexually transmitted infection. For this reason, the real vaccine to treat HIV in society is sex education.