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From this Friday and until Sunday March 27, Sidaction takes place, a fundraising operation in favor of the fight against HIV, and organized by the association of the same name.
Worldwide, 38 million people are living with HIV. Admittedly, progress in the field of treatment makes it possible to live better with it, and prevention tools, such as condoms, are effective. But there remain daunting challenges. The objectives of Sidaction are, on the one hand, to subsidize associations in the field which carry out prevention and help HIV-positive people in France and in countries with limited resources. On the other hand, to finance research projects.
►Also listen: Sidaction: the fight against AIDS is still topical
« There are several challenges to overcome. One of them is that infected people do not recover from it, they live with HIV all their lives. It’s about being able to cure this disease. The second is to have more diversified prevention tools and to manage to have a vaccine strategy or to have a vaccine candidate that is effective. “, indicates Serawit Bruck-Landais, director of scientific and medical programs within Sidaction, at the microphone of Valerie Cohen from RFI.
One of the central objectives of the operation, continues Serawit Bruck Landais, ” is to be able to give everyone access to existing tools. Whether they are effective treatments, whether they are means of prevention. So it’s about being able to make this accessible to all concerned ».
Triple therapies
For Sidaction, an important part of HIV prevention is screening. “ Being able to know one’s status makes it possible, on the one hand, to be taken care of as quickly as possible and, on the other, not to transmit the virus. People who are on effective treatments do not transmit the virus. That way, we can break the chain of transmission. »
Since the HIV virus was isolated in 1983 by the team of Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier, science has made giant strides. In 1996, the first tritherapies, a combination of three drugs, notably enabled AIDS patients to live with the virus more or less normally. From a handful of clinical cases, therapeutic avenues are emerging to hope to be able, one day perhaps, to do without treatment for life.
But the organizers of Sidaction are upset that the health crisis continues to weaken activities in the fight against AIDS in France and abroad. Last year, Sidaction collected nearly 4.5 million euros in pledges.
►To donate online: don.sidaction.org