The 2022 US Conference on HIV/AIDS (USCHA)Exit Disclaimer opened in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday, October 8. The opening plenary session put the spotlight on the HIV response in Puerto Rico, and HIV.gov spoke with Lieutenant Alberto Pina, the PACE Deputy Director in Los Angeles, about his reflections on USCHA.

Lieutenant Pina was moved by the energy and excitement of the session, and he also discussed the significance of hosting the conference in San Juan.

The opening plenary highlighted HIV in Puerto Rico and Latinx communities. Presenters included doctors who have been in the HIV field since the earliest days of the epidemic and who have treated people with HIV on the island; a lawyer fighting against stigma and discrimination; and a clinician who worked to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV in Puerto Rico in 1994, many years before other countries did the same. Several people with HIV passionately shared their personal experiences of living with the virus and working to educate others in their communities about HIV prevention and treatment services, including PrEP. Presenters also discussed the current state of HIV, including successes and challenges of working toward ending the HIV epidemic in Puerto Rico, which  is one of the 57 priority areas for the Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. 

The USCHA is the largest HIV-related gathering in the United States, bringing together thousands of participants from all segments of the HIV community. Organized by NMACExit Disclaimer, the 2022 conference is being held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from October 8-11 with more than 3,000 participants registered. The conference features over 120 institutes, workshops, and posters addressing issues in biomedical HIV prevention, aging, service delivery, and telehealth, prioritizing the issues of people with HIV and the next steps in ending the epidemic.

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