Remaking HIV prevention in the 5th decade of the epidemic: lessons from the social history of AIDS

Abstract

The arrival of the 5th decade of the AIDS epidemic under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought important challenges for HIV/AIDS prevention. This essay sought to systematize the reflections produced in a project developed by the Brazilian Interdisciplinary AIDS Association that combined current debates on the responses to the epidemic with the rescue of the social history of AIDS and prevention. We deal with the social history of the AIDS epidemic in its 40 years and address lessons in the field of prevention that are relevant to rethinking prevention in the 5th decade. We present ethical-political principles that underpin successful responses to AIDS in Brazil, as well as point out future paths, recommending approaches to be adopted and a minimum package of preventive resources for universal access. We propose to value and recover lessons learned throughout the history of prevention, such as the articulation of cultural and structural strategies – based on rights and social mobilization – with biomedical and behavioral prevention strategies and the combination of the concepts of vulnerability and human rights, instrumental in analyzing the determinants of the epidemic and proposing socially and culturally appropriate interventions.