A Champion for U=U: The Advocacy Chronicles with Mandisa Dukashe

Dear Advocate,  

South Africa marked a monumental milestone in May this year, launching a national strategy and campaign for U=U (undetectable equals untransmittable). In our next episode of PxPulse: The Advocacy Chronicles we talk with an advocate who led the way toward this groundbreaking achievement, Mandisa Tyadi Dukashe, the Treatment Technical Lead of the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC). 

U=U refers to a major breakthrough in the science and understanding of HIV treatment. From data published in 2019, researchers confirmed that people living with HIV who have an undetectable viral load and take medication as prescribed have zero risk of transmitting HIV to their sexual partners. The evidence galvanized a worldwide campaign, with the hope that spreading the word of U=U would reduce stigma around HIV and inspire people to maintain their treatment. 

Tune into to this episode, PxPulse: An Advocacy Chronicle on U=U in SA with Mandisa Dukashe, and learn why U=U represents a vital strategy in the HIV response and how Dukashe’s advocacy influenced the South African government to launch a national U=U campaign.   

Each episode of the Advocacy Chronicles explores a campaign at the forefront of global health equity, putting on spotlight on strategies that work, winning tactics and improvised solutions, with host Manju Chatani-Gada, Director of Partnerships & Capacity Strengthening at AVAC.   

For more on Dukashe’s background, check out her work as an AVAC Advocacy Fellow and read more about the work of SANAC. 

Best, 

AVAC