Just as individuals are aging with HIV, so too are entire societies. HIV treatment has reversed drops in life expectancy in many countries where PEPFAR and other global HIV/AIDS programs have worked. With this astonishing public health success comes a generational question: Will these added years of life translate to added years of health and well-being? Or will they bring chronic physical and mental conditions, with the greatest burden falling on socially excluded groups and those lacking access to integrated and person-centered health care?

As countries move toward their goal of ending AIDS and as the US Congress debates the reauthorization of PEPFAR, this panel explored how global HIV/AIDS programs can support health systems in AIDS-affected countries to adapt to the needs of aging populations. We also examined how to further the global health equity agenda by overcoming legal and structural barriers to the integration of health and social care for diverse aging populations.

Opening remarks were provided by Congressman Ami Bera, M.D. (CA-06), Senior Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was joined by a host of fantastic speakers.

Speakers:
– Catherine Godfrey, Senior Technical Advisor, HIV Care and Treatment, PEPFAR / Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator
– Jepchirchir Kiplagat, Lecturer, Moi University School of Public Health and Associate Director of Research, AMPATH Kenya
– Stephen Watiti, Award-Winning HIV Activist and Executive Director, Community Health Alliance Uganda

The dialogue was moderated by Jonathan Cohen, Director of Policy Engagement at the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health with a welcome by Sofia Gruskin, Director of the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health.

The webinar was hosted by the USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health on September 28, 2023.