Post COVID-19 Pandemic Care for HIV Caregivers

The COVID-19 pandemic that swept the world in 2020 has highlighted the dangers and challenges posed by infectious diseases and encouraged healthcare providers to further re-think the stigma of epidemic and pandemic diseases. HIV infection was reclassified as a chronic disease in Taiwan after highly active antiretroviral therapy was introduced in the country. Because HIV infection is related to behavior, people living with HIV are often affected by a negative social image that is influenced by multiple stereotypes and the general stigma toward AIDS. In Taiwan, this stigma is deeply influenced by Eastern philosophy and Confucian culture, making the context and effect of stigma different from Western countries. The current “U=U” concept of HIV treatment holds that someone under treatment for HIV with an undetectable HIV viral load cannot sexually transmit the virus to others. Therefore, in the post-pandemic era, HIV medical care personnel should apply evidence-based-care thinking. This article describes HIV stigma in the context of Confucianism, U=U as the leading concept of HIV treatment, and the recommended approach to care for HIV healthcare practitioners in the post-COVID-19 era. Reducing HIV stigma will enable Taiwan to achieve the ‘Three Zeros’ of zero discrimination, zero infection, and zero death advocated by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/ AIDS for ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030.