On Zero Discrimination Day UNAIDS Goodwill Ambassador, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach Spreads The U=U Message To End HIV Stigma

BANGKOK, 1 March, 2025—In commemoration of Zero Discrimination Day 2025, UNAIDS Asia Pacific Goodwill Ambassador, Pia Alonzo Wurtzbach has joined a campaign to end HIV-related stigma by raising awareness about U=U.

U=U stands for undetectable = untransmittable. It means that a person living with HIV who achieves an undetectable viral load through consistent treatment cannot pass on the virus through sex.

“They are still HIV positive but there is zero chance they can infect someone they have sex with. This changes everything. Fear about being tested. Shame about living with HIV. Treating people living with HIV any different from anyone else. It did not make sense before and it definitely does not make sense now. Let’s support people to learn their status, start treatment and achieve an undetectable viral load,” Ms Alonzo Wurtzbach encouraged.

The U=U concept has been proven through numerous clinical trials, including one in Thailand. In 2014, Thai researchers joined peers in Australia and Brazil for the Opposites Attract Study. That research tracked couples in which one person was HIV-negative and the other was living with HIV but had achieved an undetectable viral load through successful treatment. It confirmed that after two years of unprotected sex, there were no cases of HIV transmission between more than 300 couples. In 2023 the World Health Organisation confirmed that there was zero risk of sexual HIV transmission by a person with an undetectable viral load.

Dr. Jakkrapatara Fair Boonruang, a research physician at the Institute of HIV Research and Innovation (IHRI) in Bangkok, Thailand says U=U has transformed the way he counsels newly diagnosed patients.

“U=U changed my clients’ lives,” he said. “Before, providers would advise them that antiretroviral treatment will keep them alive and healthy. But there was no sense of returning to who they were before the infections. U=U actually changes that. It means they can fully enjoy sexual intimacy, and mothers can deliver their babies without the fear of transmitting the virus. It has been a mantle of hope and empowerment.”

In Asia and the Pacific in 2023, one of five people living with HIV were not aware of their status and one-third of the estimated 6.7 million people living with HIV were not yet on treatment. To leverage the power of U=U for keeping people healthy and preventing new infections, people must feel safe to access HIV services. This campaign is meant to raise awareness and shift attitudes among the general population. UNAIDS welcomes everyone to join by sharing these messages and joining the U=U song and dance challenge on social media. #UequalsUDance #EndHIVstigma

“Treatment saves lives. But it can also prevent new infections and transform the way we think about people living with HIV and how they see themselves,” said Eamonn Murphy, Regional Director of UNAIDS Asia Pacific and Eastern Europe Central Asia. “This Zero Discrimination Day, we recognize the critical role of communities in spreading awareness, supporting adherence and challenging stigma and discrimination. We must ensure this essential work is facilitated and financed.”

About Zero Discrimination Day

On Zero Discrimination Day, 1 March, everyone’s right to live a full and productive life with dignity is celebrated. This Zero Discrimination Day, UNAIDS is Standing Together with communities.

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