From research team to healthcare movement
On World AIDS Day (Dec 1st) of 2023, Beyond BBV was launched – a key part of the Scottish Government’s HIV Elimination Strategy. Below is the call to arms which we co-wrote with the team of researchers to mark the launch of the programme…
It’s not often you stand on the brink of a research miracle – that moment when a new reality appears on the horizon.
And yet we find ourselves in just such a moment when it comes to Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs). We are tantalisingly close to achieving something unthinkable only a decade ago – ending HIV transmission and Hepatitis C infection and disease here in Scotland.
But this dream of Scotland becoming the first ‘beyond BBV’ nation will only become a reality if we seize the moment and refuse to let it pass us by.
It will require commitment to triumph over complacency; investment to win out over inertia; collaboration to prevail instead of separation.
It starts with researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and communities in Scotland coming together for the common good – demonstrating to the rest of the world that we can move beyond the current reality with these viruses.
From here, it’s over to the remarkable team of researchers at GCU – and the wider community of practitioners and policymakers they are collaborating with – to turn this dream into a reality.
We know it won’t be long before we hear about the miracle they’ve managed to achieve.
