Prevention Access Campaign: Endorsements, Undetectable Status, and Importance of Condoms

Visit Prevention Access for the complete list and locations of organizational endorsements. The campaign acknowledges that not all individuals with HIV can achieve an undetectable status due to limited treatment access, ART resistance or toxicity, or personal choice. It's important to note that using condoms can help prevent HIV transmission and other STIs, as well as pregnancy.

HIV Undetectable = Untransmittable

Hundreds of organizations, including SafeLink Alberta, have endorsed the ‘Undetectable Equals Untransmittable’ (U=U) Consensus Statement issued by the Prevention Access Campaign. It states that people living with HIV can feel confident that if they have an undetectable viral load and take their medications as prescribed, they will not pass on HIV to sexual partners (Undetectable = Untransmittable U=U).

According to UNAIDS, “Twenty years of evidence demonstrates that HIV treatment is highly effective in reducing the transmission of HIV. People living with HIV on antiretroviral therapy who have an undetectable level of HIV in their blood have a negligible risk of transmitting HIV sexually.” Health Canada endorsed U=U in 2018, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) also support this campaign.

This means that people who take ART daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. This is great news for people living with HIV, and it's an important message to share with the broader community to help reduce stigma and promote understanding.