Heart of Stigma
What Heart of Stigma does
The Heart of Stigma programme, launched in 2020, improves health services by highlighting HIV-related stigma and the effectiveness of stigma-mitigation efforts.
Heart of Stigma in context
Stigma and discrimination keep people living with and affected by HIV from accessing healthcare services. They remain major barriers to ending the HIV pandemic as a threat to public health and individual well-being. Over 80% of people living with HIV in 25 countries experienced internalized stigma, according to the People Living with HIV Stigma Index 2.0 (2020-2023). The report also found that among all those who had ever stopped care or treatment for HIV, 34% said restarting was less likely because they feared that health workers would treat them badly or disclose their status without their consent.
I learned to advocate for other young people that are living with HIV. I didn't know I had this much potential in me because of self-stigma. My call to action to the global community would be, we need more innovations that target internal stigma.
Vimbayi, Wakakosha – “I’m worth it” programme coach and peer mentor, Zimbabwe
Heart of Stigma in action
The IAS Heart of Stigma programme supports stakeholders in the HIV response to scale up efforts to eliminate HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
The IAS Heart of Stigma programme:
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Enhances country leadership and exchange through existing platforms on HIV-related stigma and discrimination
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Supports people working on HIV-related stigma and discrimination at a national level to self-assess progress made in eliminating HIV-related stigma and discrimination and determine how to address outstanding gaps
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Disseminates the latest evidence and best practices in elimination of HIV-related stigma and discrimination at a global level
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Recognizes frontline healthcare workers who deliver stigma-free quality HIV prevention, treatment and care and amplifies their stories
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