World AIDS Day: HIV is not history, and stigma is not gone

I have lived with HIV since 2012. Thirteen years on, I can say with certainty that these years have not been easy. Medicine has advanced, yes — PrEP is widely available, treatment means undetectable equals untransmittable, and people living with HIV can expect long, full lives. But the social reality is far more complicated.

In South London, particularly in places like Peckham where I live, HIV is still present. It is not a relic of the past, nor a distant memory. It is here, woven into the everyday lives of people who often remain invisible. And alongside HIV, other crises unfold: I see people lost to fentanyl, I see sexual promiscuity normalised among younger generations, and I see the risk of underestimating what HIV still means.

The hardest part is not the virus itself. It is the silence, the stigma, the lack of information. Too many still believe HIV is something shameful, something to hide. Too many underestimate the importance of testing, of prevention, of honest conversation. And too many charities and community groups are left to fight this battle with limited resources, even as they continue to do extraordinary work.

Organisations across South London — from grassroots collectives to established charities — are pushing back against stigma. They run testing campaigns, they offer counselling, they create safe spaces where people can speak openly about their status. They remind us that HIV is not just a medical condition, but a social issue, a question of dignity and visibility.

World AIDS Day is not just about remembrance. It is about insisting that HIV is still here, that stigma is still here, and that silence is dangerous. It is about recognising that communities like Peckham are on the frontline — where health inequalities, drug crises, and misinformation collide.

For me, living with HIV has been a lesson in resilience. But resilience should not mean isolation. It should mean solidarity, awareness, and the courage to speak. If we want to protect the next generation, we must tell the truth: HIV is not gone, and the fight against stigma is far from over.