Paris (AFP)

Formerly a shadow killer now at the center of a dedicated United Nations program, HIV can offer many lessons on how to respond to Covid-19, according to the director of the International AIDS Society, interviewed by AFP.

Kevin Osborne says that overcoming the pandemic requires drastically stepped up testing, private sector funding for research and a new approach to life.

Q: What is the main thing that HIV can teach us about Covid-19?

A: What we learned late with the HIV response is the need for political commitment. This is important because it shows that there is an urgent need to mobilize different sectors. The response to Covid-19 cannot be just a health response, you need community engagement, clear communication. Everyone must play a role in all sectors.

The greatest impact will be felt at the community level. And we must protect the most vulnerable. In the early days of HIV, those first affected, young gay men, were seen as people who did not deserve help. These communities had to both fight for their lives and wage political combat.

Let's see what's going on today: who would have ever thought that we would now have a specialized United Nations unit for this disease?

HIV has shown the loopholes in society in how we treat the most vulnerable. The Covid-19 is different, but it also shows the fault lines in our societies.

Q: Are there reasons to be optimistic?

A: Unlike HIV, this virus was identified and known very early. But there are still many things that we do not know and we have to work on how to handle these ambiguities in our daily life.

The best way to respond to Covid-19 is to understand what we are dealing with. Testing is therefore essential. Tests are the entry point into a world of possibilities.

The focal point of the response to HIV is based on the fact that people know their situation. So: tests, tests, tests.

Not only to understand what we are dealing with, but also to allow people to know better for themselves what they can do. If key caregivers are not tested, they must stay at home and it is counterproductive. But if you test everyone now, then you can put them back to work. Screening is so essential for so many reasons, and we learned it through HIV.

Q: Aside from disease prevention, what can we learn from Covid-19?

A: I have lived with HIV for half my life. What does Covid-19 mean in terms of people's feelings of vulnerability, health care, food security, social interaction, work?

As we see this shock happening, all of these questions have come to the fore. We all realize that the economy we live in depends on everyone's ability to get up and do their job.

© 2020 AFP