In 2016, the Prevention Access Campaign (PAC) launched to promote the Undetectable Equals Untransmittable (U=U) campaign. The fact that people on effective HIV treatment with an undetectable viral load cannot transmit the virus sexually was an uplifting message for all. Over the years, U=U has helped dispel the stigma surrounding the virus to the extent that in 2022 PAC separated into two organizations. PAC now works exclusively on global efforts to promote U=U. The new group, titled U=U plus, focuses on the United States.

U=U plus offers HIV advocates and organizations leadership from people living with HIV, capacity-building and technical assistance, community engagement and activation, expertise in the development of the U=U message, and U=U research and evaluation support.

From the U=U plus website:

About U=U plus

Our team of U=U champions have been on the front lines of U=U since it launched. Our collective expertise includes experience from all sectors all the way to the federal HIV response and everything in between.

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Our vision

U=U enriches the lives of all people living with HIV in the U.S.

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Our mission

Create an equitable HIV response through empowerment, engagement and education.

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Enrich, not exclude

We want U=U to be everyone’s movement. But in the U.S., only 57% of the estimated 1.2 million people living with HIV were virally suppressed (undetectable) in 2019. This is not OK. We can’t fully celebrate U=U until all people living with HIV have equitable access to the care, treatment and services that make U=U possible.

Even when people can access treatment, we know not everyone will get to undetectable. Treatment can still enhance their health, and we hope that U=U can still enhance their lives by reducing the HIV stigma that hurts all of us. The plus in U=U plus shows that there is still so much more to do; it also signifies that we aim to add to the lives of people living with HIV in the U.S.

 

Go to uequalsuplus.org for more information.