On June 15th, EATG presented its project Belong, an initiative on why people living with HIV must be included in Non-HIV clinical trials, at the Italian Conference on AIDS and Antiviral Research (ICAR 2023), that took place in Bari, Italy, from 14th to 16th of June.
Rocco Pignata, Programme Officer and Project Coordinator at the European AIDS Treatment Group, presented the oral presentation titled “Belong – Why People Living With HIV Must Be Included In Non-HIV Clinical Trials. A Community-Led Initiative For An Inclusive Approach To Clinical Research”, which was part of the “HIV: Much left to do” session.
The presentation focused on EATG position paper on why people living with HIV must be included in non-HIV clinical trials, published in September 2022, and Belong, its follow-up project. It highlighted the need for a systemic change in the current thinking and practice of clinical research to produce safety and efficacy data on treatments for non-HIV ailments in people living with HIV, improve access and availability of drugs and ensure that clinical trials do not exclude people living with HIV solely on HIV status and that more inclusive guidelines are adopted in Europe.
It is crucial for representatives from various stakeholder groups to sit at the same table to create awareness and establish a dialogue that contributes to this change. The involvement of people living with HIV from the early stages of clinical research creates an opportunity to build a relationship of trust between communities, researchers and healthcare providers and contributes to a global effort to empower community members and improve the overall research and development process, allowing for real research for a real population.
The presentation was well-received by the audience, which included community members, researchers and healthcare providers. We would like to thank all the people who attended this session and all our community members involved in the Belong initiative.
Let’s continue to work towards a more inclusive approach to clinical research that benefits all members of our communities.
With Inclusion, We #Belong
#ICAR2023
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