Ahead of Almedalen 2024: Hiv-Sweden presents 8 action points in new program

Ahead of Almedalen 2024, HIV Sweden is launching a new action program. The program is aimed at decision-makers and politicians, and aims to strengthen people living with HIV, get closer to the goals of Agenda2030 and create action on issues related to HIV.

"Our hope is that the program and our participation at Almedalen will lead to an increase in knowledge about HIV in politics, and that we will ultimately see a more modern and active HIV policy, both regionally and nationally." says Emanuel Karlström, Strategist at Hiv-Sverige.

In addition to the action program, HIV-Sweden will offer a quiz where visitors can test their knowledge and attitudes towards HIV and people living with HIV. The quiz and HIV testing will be available in the Hiv-Sweden tent on site 207 in Almedalen.

Hiv-Sverige participates together with the member organizations Positiva Gruppen Syd, Positiva Gruppen Väst and Convictus in Almedalen between 24 June - 1 July under the slogan "Hiva fördomarna".

See the action plan in full here.

Hiv-Sverige raises HIV with EU candidates, party leaders and MPs at Järvaveckan 2024

Järvaveckan, which this year was organized at Spånga Idrottsplats in northern Stockholm between 29 May and 1 June, attracted a large number of visitors and several influential politicians. Hiv-Sverige was present and took the opportunity to conduct a series of interviews and conversations with, among others, Magdalena Andersson (S), Jonas Sjöstedt (V), Arba Kokalari (M) and Annika Hirvonen (MP).

Watch the video and a summary of the interviews here

The conversations focused on raising the profile of HIV and creating awareness of the specific challenges faced by people living with HIV in Swedish society. Health care and stigmatization of people living with HIV were two examples of issues that were given extra space and where politicians had the chance to tell us what we can do to move forward.

Although societal issues such as national security, democracy and gang crime dominated the discussions at Järvaveckan, Hiv-Sverige used the event to highlight how HIV issues are affected by political decisions.

- It is critical that we engage decision-makers in order to create an active and up-to-date HIV policy. In addition to the HIV stigma that stubbornly persists, we face major challenges in relation to, for example, co-morbidity, where the level of ambition must be raised in Sweden, explains Emanuel Karlström, strategist at Hiv-Sverige.

The purpose of HIV Sweden's presence during Järvaveckan was to put HIV back on the political agenda and raise awareness among decision-makers.

HIV in a new era - new report on changing care needs, costs and co-morbidities

Today, May 28, Hiv-Sweden publishes the report "HIV in a new era". The report is released in connection with the webinar "Are we ready? Comorbidities, health economics and the future needs of people living with HIV" and aims to highlight aspects of the changing care needs of people living with HIV and the new cost structure that is taking shape as a result.

The report's foreword reads:

"Healthcare is a high priority issue in Sweden. Accessibility, waiting times and costs are aspects that often appear in the debate about the health care system. For people living with HIV, well-functioning care is a prerequisite for good health and a good life. At the same time, several trends can be discerned in the 40-year history of HIV, from palliative care to the current designation of HIV as a chronic, treatable disease. With the changing care needs of people living with HIV, we are in the midst of an ongoing paradigm shift with demands to adapt care and resource allocation. Of the principles of the Health Care Act (1982:763), debates and discussions on HIV care include arguments that lean towards the principle of human dignity as well as the principles of need and solidarity. There is now a relatively rich body of material describing the consequences of an HIV diagnosis for the individual. The authorities as well as academia and civil society have published reports on the life situation of people living with HIV, and the needs and challenges that patients face with their diagnosis. However, the principle of cost-effectiveness seems to be rarely touched upon. To avoid co-morbidity, increasing costs and improving the quality of life of people living with HIV, cost-effectiveness should be given more attention.

A reasonable question is whether we in civil society should highlight cost-effectiveness ourselves. Is it to be true to our target groups and our function in relation to other actors?

We lean towards a yes, by highlighting challenges and which interventions have an effect, we can point out what makes a difference and contributes to better health and quality of life. The fact that healthcare costs and must cost is reasonable given our economic prosperity, but we need to ask ourselves whether resources for the interventions that exist today can be used in other ways. Ultimately, this is what also affects the health and quality of life of people living with HIV.

This report therefore aims to answer these questions:

What is the cost of co-morbidity in people living with HIV? How can we better prevent, detect and treat co-morbidities?

The report is based on a literature review of studies in the area of health care costs for people living with HIV, with a focus on Sweden and Denmark. The choice of Nordic countries is based on the design of health systems, HIV prevalence, demographic composition and health of the population, and available published research. Some references are also made to research from other countries."

Download the report here

Now is the time to become a member of HIV-Sweden!

Your voice is needed

You represent several important key groups in HIV prevention, your voice is needed for our joint work. With collective power and a common voice, we can push issues further.

By being a member of HIV-Sweden, you are part of the national and international policy and advocacy work that HIV-Sweden carries out. Our work ensures that human rights, the right to good health, the right to a life free from prejudice and discrimination, apply to everyone living with HIV.

Your membership and commitment has enabled us to continue working to improve the rights of people living with and affected by HIV in Sweden.

Renew your membership for 2024 so we can continue to make a difference together.

Membership fees 2024

We hope that you will continue to be part of HIV-Sweden. Membership fees run per calendar year. New members who pay the fee from October onwards are considered to have paid the fee for the entire following year.

To be entitled to participate and vote at the annual meeting, you must have paid the membership fee. The membership fee for the year 2024 is 100 SEK for individual members, persons registered at the same address as a member (family member) 50 SEK/year/person, 1000 SEK for member legal entity and 1500 SEK for member association.

When paying, do not forget to write your name and contact details.

BG 5107-6594

Swish 1232111896

We look forward to working with you.
//Simon, Anna and Emanuel

News from CROI 2024: Cardiovascular disease risk higher than previously feared, 'weekly pills' and promising approaches to managing high blood pressure

CROI, or Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, is a conference and forum focusing on retroviruses and viral diseases. During this year's conference, which took place in Denver, Colorado between March 3 and 6, several news stories about HIV emerged. HIV-Sweden monitored the event and has compiled three of the most talked about news from the conference.

One pill a week could soon become a reality

Treatment for HIV in the form of tablets has been the most common approach since the breakthrough of antiretroviral treatment for HIV in the mid-1990s. For most people living with HIV today, treatment involves taking either one or two tablets a day. For a few years now, treatment has also been available in the form of monthly injections called Cabenuva. The injections are given in hospital and need to be taken at regular intervals within a window of about two weeks. Tablets with a longer duration of action are also now available, which could mean that tablets only need to be taken once a week.  

In a presentation at CROI, Professor Russ Carstens from the pharmaceutical company Merck presented new data from two studies with the preparation MK-8725, a new drug that is one of the first in its category, nucleoside reverse transcriptase translocation inhibitor. 

In the first study, 37 people living with HIV were tested with MK-8725. The participants were divided into five groups and given different doses, from 0.25mg to 10mg. Researchers then examined how well the drug worked against the HIV virus and concluded that doses above 5mg were sufficient to effectively treat HIV. In a subsequent study, 32 people not living with HIV tested MK-8725 for three weeks. The group was divided into four smaller groups and given doses ranging from 5mg to 40mg once a week. At the end of the study, the researchers found that the drug would remain in the body between 216 and 291 hours, without a new dose. The results showed that taking one pill of MK-8725 a week would be enough to treat HIV.

News about another drug, GS-1720, was also shared at CROI. Dr. Carl Fichtenbaum from the University of Cincinnati reported on a study done with GS-1720, a drug in the integrase inhibitor class. The study tested doses of 30mg up to 900mg of GS-1720 among people living with HIV. The researchers concluded that a dose of 450mg effectively treated HIV and remained in the body at a sufficient dose for almost 10 days. No serious side effects were reported and the drug was generally well tolerated by the participants.

There are also other studies and attempts to develop a treatment involving only one or two tablets per week. Dr. Amy Colson from the Community Initiative Resource in Boston reported on a study with the drugs Lenacapavir and Islatravir that is showing good results and could pave the way for a weekly combination.

Risk of cardiovascular disease higher than previously feared - new guidelines in both UK and US

Several studies have confirmed that people living with HIV are affected by co-morbidities to a greater extent and at an earlier age. In general, it is estimated that common diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease affect people living with HIV about 5 to 10 years earlier than the general population. 

New data from a study called REPRIEVE shows that the risk of cardiovascular disease may be higher than previously thought. The study included 7 769 people with HIV aged 40 to 75 years, from five continents. The vast majority of study participants had a low or moderate risk of cardiovascular disease at screening. By following the participants, the researchers have discovered that more of the study participants suffered from cardiovascular disease than the research team initially expected. In particular, the risk appears to be higher in high-income countries. The study also shows that women have a two and a half times higher risk of cardiovascular disease than previously estimated. 

Several countries have recently changed their guidelines, recommending that people living with HIV take blood thinners to prevent cardiovascular disease. In November 2023, the British HIV Association updated its recommendations for all people over the age of 40 to be offered blood thinners. In the US, the Department of Health and Human Services issued new recommendations in February 2024 that are broadly similar to the UK guidelines. In terms of the type of blood thinners recommended, Pitavastatin is by far the most commonly recommended.

For more information on REPRIEVE:

https://www.reprievetrial.org/

Promising method gives good results for managing high blood pressure

High blood pressure is one of the underlying causes of heart attacks and strokes, two conditions that can have major consequences for those affected. There are a number of ways to lower blood pressure, and thus reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke. Methods that have proved successful include increased physical activity, reduced salt intake, smoking cessation and reduced alcohol consumption. It is also possible to take antihypertensive medication.

A study from the US recruited 297 people with HIV and high blood pressure. Half of the participants followed their usual care plan with routine visits and tests. The other half took part in a specially designed program aimed at lowering the participants' blood pressure. The program consisted of home blood pressure measurement, evidence-based treatment algorithms, digital journal tools, and a nurse who coordinated and communicated with the patient. Participants in both groups were followed for 12 months and then evaluated. In the group with a specially designed program, more people received some type of treatment for high blood pressure and three times as many reached the goal of a blood pressure of 130/80, compared to the group that followed their regular care plan.

In addition to lower blood pressure, the program was found to lead to lower bad cholesterol as well as other health benefits.

For more information on the study:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2815688

Several of the news items highlight that more needs to be done to develop care for people living with HIV in Sweden. There is also a need for updated guidelines and interventions to better monitor the health of people living with HIV. The health challenges of today and the future will be different, and it is important that the healthcare system has the knowledge and resources to deal with this. HIV-Sweden is constantly working to help ensure that healthcare develops in harmony with the needs of people living with HIV. Do you have questions or concerns about any of this news or the care you receive today? Please contact us!