Trial Talk podcast releases new episodes for World AIDS Day

01 Dec 2023

Two new episodes of the Trial Talk podcast have been released today, on World AIDS Day. 

World AIDS Day takes place every year on 1st December, to show solidarity in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and to remember those who have sadly lost their lives.  

Since the start of the global AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, there has been huge progress towards preventing HIV transmission and treating those who are living with HIV. Now, if they’re diagnosed early and treated with daily antiretroviral therapy, people living with HIV can usually keep the virus suppressed, meaning they can live a long and healthy life. 

But there are still challenges to address. The World Health Organization recommends treating all people with HIV as soon as possible after diagnosis, and while this policy has led to improvements in adults, treatment coverage in children and adolescents is lagging behind. 

In the first of our World AIDS Day episodes, Dr Anna Turkova, Clinical Principal Research Fellow at the MRC Clinical Trials Unit at UCL, and Philippa Musoke, Professor of Paediatrics and Child Health at Makerere University, explore the reasons for these disparities and how the MRC CTU at UCL is working to close the gap between adults and children through the clinical trials, including ODYSSEY, D3, BREATHER Plus and LATA. 

Download the part 1 transcript

In the second of our World AIDS Day episodes, we highlight the important role that young people living with HIV play in research, by shaping clinical trials to better serve the needs of their community. This episode features Lungile Jafta, who works closely with young people through Penta’s youth engagement programmes, and Gugu, a former Youth Trials Board member from South Africa who is living with HIV. 

Download the part 2 transcript

Further information: 

• Our work in HIV 
• Penta’s Youth Trials Boards 
• ODYSSEY trial page 
• D3 trial page 
• BREATHER Plus trial page 
• LATA trial page