This episode of HIV unmuted features an intimate conversation with Ambassador-at-Large Dr John N Nkengasong, the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD). Our host,
Juan Michael Porter II, takes listeners through John N Nkengasong’s remarkable journey from his early days as a virologist to his current role leading the State Department’s Bureau of GHSD, which oversees the global implementation of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

John N Nkengasong offers profound insights into the ongoing global HIV response, stressing the importance of community leadership in sustaining the progress made over the years. He addresses the challenges of maintaining this momentum in the face of changing global health priorities and funding landscapes. Despite significant advancements in treatment and prevention, John N Nkengasong underscores that ending the HIV pandemic will require addressing persistent inequalities and engaging communities around the world.

John N Nkengasong also highlights the potential of lenacapavir for HIV prevention, which, as of December 2024, is part of a coordinated effort by PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation and the Gates Foundation to expand access to innovative treatments. Learn more about this initiative here.

Meet our guest:

John N Nkengasong is an Ambassador-at-Large and serves as the U.S. Department of State’s U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy (GHSD). He oversees the Bureau of Global Health Security and Diplomacy, which serves as the department’s coordinating body for work on strengthening global health security to prevent, detect and respond to infectious diseases, including HIV and AIDS. The department also elevates and integrates global health security as a core component of U.S. national security and foreign policy. GHSD is home to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which the Ambassador also oversees. PEPFAR is the largest commitment by any nation to address a single disease in history and has prevented millions of HIV acquisitions, saved more than 25 million lives, and changed the course of the HIV pandemic.

Meet our host:

Juan Michael Porter II is a health journalist, HIV advocate, culture critic, educator and the host of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast. He is the Senior Editor of TheBody.com and TheBodyPro – and the first person openly living with HIV to hold the position. Juan Michael's reporting combines data dives, personal narratives and policy analyses to address the real-world consequences of ever-shifting legislation on people's health outcomes. He has written for the Public Broadcasting Service, SF Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, NY Observer, TDF Stages, Playbill, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Queerty, Anti-Racism Daily, Positively Aware, Documentary Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scholastic and Dance Magazine.

In this special World AIDS Day episode of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast, poet, advocate and researcher Bakita Kasadha joins host Juan Michael Porter II in a conversation that challenges preconceived notions and redefines how we discuss and address HIV stigma. Produced in collaboration with the IAS Heart of Stigma programme of IAS – the International AIDS Society – this episode dives into the transformative power of language, art and science in reshaping the global HIV narrative.

Bakita shares her unique journey from poetry to advocacy and from being skeptical about research to becoming a groundbreaking researcher herself.

Through candid dialogue, the episode explores the nuances of internalized stigma, the limitations of rigid language norms, and the necessity of inclusive and participatory approaches in HIV discourse. Bakita and Juan Michael discuss the role of grace, nuance, and allyship in dismantling stigma and how the arts can amplify voices and stories that have long been marginalized.

This episode will leave you inspired to rethink stigma, reclaim narratives, and prioritize people in every aspect of the conversation. To find out how you can get involved this World AIDS Day (1 December), visit our World AIDS Day page.

Meet our guest:

Bakita Kasadha

Bakita Kasadha is a multi-award-winning health researcher at the University of Oxford, and poet and activist. In 2024, she was awarded the IAS biennial Prudence Mabele Prize. She was the main researcher on the award-winning HIV and infant-feeding NOURISH-UK study and co-edited the collection, HIV and Women’s Health: Where Are We Now? Her poetry, commissioned by organizations like the Elton John AIDS Foundation, has inspired initiatives such as a multimillion-pound Fast-Track Cities (London) fund to prevent HIV. She has written for TheBodyPro, NAM aidsmap, Black Ballad, Glamour and the British Journal of Healthcare Management. Her work focuses on addressing health inequities through research and the arts.

Meet our host:

Juan Michael Porter II

Juan Michael Porter II is a health journalist, HIV advocate, culture critic, educator and the host of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast. He is the Senior Editor of TheBody.com and TheBodyPro – and the first person openly living with HIV to hold the position. Juan Michael’s reporting combines data dives, personal narratives and policy analyses to address the real-world consequences of ever-shifting legislation on people’s health outcomes. He has written for the Public Broadcasting Service, SF Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, NY Observer, TDF Stages, Playbill, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Queerty, Anti-Racism Daily, Positively Aware, Documentary Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scholastic and Dance Magazine.

In this episode of HIV unmuted, host Juan Michael Porter II sits down with Jeanne Marrazzo, the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), in a conversation that goes beyond the headlines and deep into the heart of HIV research and advocacy.

Dr Marrazzo, a leader with decades of experience in infectious disease research, shares her inspiring journey from her roots in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to her groundbreaking work in HIV prevention and care. Through this intimate conversation, listeners will discover what drives Dr. Marrazzo’s commitment to equity, diversity and community-centered research, and how her personal and professional experiences shape her vision for the future of HIV science.

From the challenges of addressing global health inequities to the optimism surrounding new HIV prevention methods, Dr Marrazzo offers valuable insights into the importance of inclusive messaging, the power of collaboration, and why putting people first remains
at the core of her mission.

Tune in to hear how Jeanne Marrazzo plans to navigate the evolving landscape of global health as she leads NIAID into a new era, and why she believes that hope, innovation, and community are key to overcoming the ongoing challenges in the HIV response.

Meet our guest:

Jeanne Marrazzo

Jeanne Marrazzo, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, is the Director of NIAID at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she oversees a USD 6.3 billion budget that supports research to advance understanding, diagnosis and treatment of infectious, immunologic and allergic diseases. She was previously the C. Glenn Cobbs Endowed Chair and Director of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine. She is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and was Treasurer of the IDSA from 2021 to 2023, having served on the board since 2018. She researches the vaginal microbiome, sexually transmitted infections and HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis. She has had leadership roles in the NIH HIV Prevention Trials Network and the Infectious Diseases Clinical Research Consortium. She was a leading voice in communicating science during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meet our host:

Juan Michael Porter II

Juan Michael Porter II is a health journalist, HIV advocate, culture critic, educator and the host of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast. He is the Senior Editor of TheBody.com and TheBodyPro – and the first person openly living with HIV to hold the position. Juan Michael's reportage combines data dives, personal narratives and policy analyses to address the real-world consequences of ever-shifting legislation on people's health outcomes. He has written for the Public Broadcasting Service, SF Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, NY Observer, TDF Stages, Playbill, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Queerty, Anti-Racism Daily, Positively Aware, Documentary Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scholastic and Dance Magazine.

This episode of HIV unmuted introduces a new host and format for the award-winning IAS podcast. Our host, Juan Michael Porter II, the Senior Editor for TheBody/TheBodyPro, takes a deep dive with a single guest in an intimate conversation that gives the listener a glimpse of the guest – who they are and how they got into this work – and an understanding of their topic of expertise.

This new format opens with Sharon Lewin, the IAS President and AIDS 2024 International Co-Chair, walking us through the latest HIV science released at AIDS 2024, the 25th International AIDS Conference, and what it means for the HIV response. This episode delves into a broad range of exciting science, from long-acting injectables to new research on doxycycline prophylaxis to advances in cure research, including inspiration from the “next Berlin Patient”.

Through the lens of her personal story, Sharon walks us through the context and challenges of the HIV response, such as changing global health priorities and reduced funding for HIV. Astounding progress has been made in the HIV response. Yet, we are still missing critical targets. Sharon makes it clear that if we are to envision the end of the HIV pandemic, we must address persisting inequalities that remain in the HIV response: we must put people first.

Meet our guest

Sharon Lewin
The IAS President and AIDS 2024 International Co-Chair, Sharon Lewin, is an infectious diseases physician and basic scientist and has worked in HIV-related clinical medicine and research for over 25 years. She is Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, a joint venture of the University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The Doherty Institute has over 850 staff working on infection and immunity through research, education and public health, and has a significant focus on virology, including HIV. She is an active clinician, working at the Alfred Hospital and Royal Melbourne Hospital, and a Melbourne Laureate Professor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne.

Meet our host

Juan Michael Porter II
Juan Michael Porter II is a health journalist, HIV advocate, culture critic, educator and the host of HIV unmuted, the IAS podcast. He is the Senior Editor of TheBody.com and TheBodyPro – and the first person openly living with HIV to hold the position. Juan Michael's reportage combines data dives, personal narratives and policy analyses to address the real-world consequences of ever-shifting legislation on people's health outcomes. He has written for the Public Broadcasting Service, SF Chronicle, Philadelphia Inquirer, Christian Science Monitor, NY Observer, TDF Stages, Playbill, American Theatre, Time Out NY, Queerty, Anti-Racism Daily, Positively Aware, Documentary Magazine, SYFY Wire, Scholastic and Dance Magazine.

On this World AIDS Day, the IAS calls on the HIV response to put communities first. This episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, puts the spotlight on a specific community that is often overlooked: people growing older with HIV.

Remarkable strides in medicine and science have transformed the HIV response since the impact of AIDS-related illnesses in the 1980s, which claimed many lives prematurely.

Thanks to access to life-saving treatments and proper care, it is now possible for people living with HIV to live into old age – something that was inconceivable 40 years ago.

Globally, UNAIDS estimates a significant increase in people aged 50 years or older living with HIV – from 5.6 million in 2015 to 9.4 million in 2022. This generation now faces unprecedented and unique HIV-related health issues.

In this special episode, we hear from people who have been living with HIV for more than 20 years, unravel the scientific dimensions of ageing, and discover how we can put communities first in the HIV response to address the challenges of growing older with HIV.

On this World AIDS Day, we will never forget those we have lost in the HIV response, and we will never truly address the issues of growing older with HIV until we put communities first. For more information, go to the IAS World AIDS Day webpage www.iasociety.org/WAD2023

Meet our guests:

• Jules Levin, Founder of the National AIDS Treatment Advocacy Project, offers a first-hand perspective on navigating four decades living with HIV.
• Reena Rajasuriar, Associate Professor at the University of Malaya and principal investigator for the Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS at the University of Malaya, unpacks the scientific complexities of the ageing process for people living with HIV.
• Lillian Mworeko, Executive Director at the International Community of Women living with HIV Eastern Africa and advocate from Uganda who has been living with HIV for 25 years, shares insights on prioritizing communities.

In this episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, we take a deep dive into the breaking science being released at IAS 2023 and explain why these breakthroughs are so important for people living with and affected by HIV.

Set in Australia, a country that is closing in on the elimination of HIV transmission, the conference highlights the latest research, including more hope for an HIV cure, expanding prevention options and insights into mpox. Guests also give us insight into exciting studies on prevention strategies for cardiovascular disease and post-treatment control of HIV in children who are treated early on.

These studies move us in the right direction. Yet, as our last guest makes clear, scientific advances alone can only get us so far. We must address persisting inequalities that remain in the HIV response. And we must put people first.

Meet our guests:

• Gracia Violeta Ross Quiroga, Programme Executive at the World Council of Churches, describes the potential life-changing impact the cutting-edge research has on herself and other people living with HIV. She tells us what it was like to grow up in a conservative Bolivia in the early 2000s without access to life-saving HIV treatment.
• Sharon Lewin, IAS President, IAS 2023 International Co-Chair and Director of the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, helps us understand the scientific significance of the breaking science.
• James Ward, a Pitjantjatjara and Nukunu man, who is also an infectious diseases epidemiologist and the Director of the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health at the University of Queensland, tells us why the latest science doesn't always reach vulnerable communities.

This special episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, marks World AIDS Day, which has taken place on 1 December every year since 1988. On this day, we remember the people we have lost, reflect on how far we have come, and rally together to strengthen our resolve in the HIV response.

The latest UNAIDS data from 2021 shows our approach must change: 70% of new HIV acquisitions globally occur among key populations (gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers and their clients, and trans people) and their sexual partners.

If we are to ever really tackle the persisting inequalities that fuel the HIV pandemic, we must put people first.

In this episode, we expand upon the UNAIDS theme, Equalize, by looking closely at addressing the continuing inequities in the HIV response in a context of limited resources. At a time when we have colliding pandemics, the climate crisis, and rising fuel and food prices, our guests share what takes to put people first.

Meet our guests:

• Yvette Raphael is the Executive Director of Advocates for the Prevention of HIV in Africa. She tells us how important World AIDS Day is to her personally and calls upon the scientific community to put people first in HIV research.
• Peter Sands is the Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, one of the largest funding mechanisms in global health. He talks about the ‘pandemics of the poor' and explains how putting people first must be an approach, starting with what is being funded.
• Gastón Devisich & Romina Mauas are a client and healthcare provider from the IAS Me and My Healthcare Provider campaign. Gastón nominated Romina for being a healthcare champion who made a tangible difference in his life by putting him first in the face of discriminatory practices and belief systems.

The history of the HIV response is woven into the International AIDS Conferences. Ground-breaking science and political activism at the conferences have uniquely shaped the trajectory of the response.

Conferences in Canada have played key roles. In Montreal in 1989, protestors stormed the stage, establishing activism in the HIV response. In Vancouver in 1996, delegates celebrated a treatment revolution that saw HIV become a manageable condition.

Today, AIDS 2022 returns to Montreal and also takes place virtually. But other crises like monkeypox, surging COVID-19 cases and climate change, remind us why now more than ever, we need to re-engage and follow the science.

In this episode of HIV unmuted, the award-winning IAS podcast, we take a deep dive into the breaking science being released at AIDS 2022, address important access concerns at the International AIDS Conferences and understand how to translate cutting-edge science into meaningful action.

Meet our guests:

• Erika Castellanos is Interim Executive Director of Global Action for Trans Equality (GATE). She tells us her story of growing up being denied basic human rights due to being trans and the difficulties she faced in accessing HIV medication. Erika helps analyse controversial visa issues around AIDS 2022, and helps us understand the community impact of the science being released at the conference.
• Linda-Gail Bekker, former IAS President and current Director of the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town, dives into the breaking science being released at AIDS 2022 and translates what this means for the HIV response.
• John Nkengasong is tasked with leading some of the world’s largest HIV programmes as the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Special Representative for Global Health Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State. He talks to us about why AIDS 2022 is so important and his vision for the future of the HIV response.

If you are listening to this episode before 29 July 2022 and want to learn more about the latest scientific breakthroughs in the HIV response, join us at the 24th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2022) virtually or in-person in Montreal.

For further information on how the innovations from COVID-19 can be applied to HIV, read the International AIDS Society’s report.