500 years of medicine. The future: The end of AIDS is up to us

Join the Royal College of Physicians for a special free lecture, part of the season marking its 500th anniversary, reflecting on the history and future of medicine, society and health.

In this event, Dr Nneka Nwokolo focuses on the advances made in the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of HIV over recent years, and how these major changes have not yet entered the public’s consciousness.

Today, people who receive effective treatment are uninfectious and unable to pass the virus on to others, including sexual partners and unborn babies. Meanwhile, the availability of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), medication taken by people at risk of catching HIV, has had ground-breaking effects on transmission in many parts of the world.

Whilst stigma and availability of services remain major issues, the means are now in place to halt the spread of the virus and ensure that people with HIV have life expectancies comparable to the general population.

Dr Nneka Nwokolo is a consultant physician at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital where she trained in Sexual Health and HIV Medicine. Her research interests include the prevention of HIV transmission, and she has been involved in initiatives that have resulted in a significant reduction in HIV diagnoses in men who have sex with men in London. She is also interested in the sexual and reproductive health of women, and particularly HIV positive women. She is a passionate advocate for women’s access to HIV prevention strategies including HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Dr Nwokolo will argue that the end of AIDS could be within reach, but success lies in our hands.

Programme
6pm - Arrival refreshments (tea and coffee)
6.30pm - Lecture starts
7.30pm - Lecture finishes

Spaces at this event and the others in the 500th series are strictly limited and we anticipate them booking out well in advance.