Abstract
OBJECTIVES: To seek consensus among global experts on concepts, measures and approaches to guide national and global action to address HIV-related stigma and formulate a call to action. This outlines priorities to unite actors in more effectively responding to and resourcing efforts to address HIV-related stigma. DESIGN: An adapted Delphi consensus-building process using two rounds of online questionnaires. SETTING: Online questionnaires sent to a global expert panel. PARTICIPANTS: 50 global experts on HIV-related stigma and discrimination representing sectors including civil society, people living with HIV and key populations, research and academia, clinical practice, law, non-profit organisations, the United Nations, and policy and donor organisations. RESULTS: The panel reached consensus on 55 points relating to the 12 broad themes extracted from the evidence base. These comprised the importance of addressing HIV-related stigma at scale; HIV-related stigma terms and definitions; Frameworks; Programming and approaches; Community leadership in HIV-related stigma-reduction implementation; Intersectional stigma and discrimination; Stigma and discrimination measures and assessment scales; Monitoring and evaluation; Stakeholder and community participation in monitoring and evaluation; Knowledge gaps and research needs; Funding and Commitment calls. From these, a consensus statement and call to action were formulated on priorities for strong political and financial commitments by all countries to reduce and mitigate HIV-related stigma and achieve global HIV targets adopted in 2021. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrated that global experts across sectors consider that action is needed to support the three critical enablers of the HIV response-society, systems and services-to ensure that HIV services are non-discriminatory and person-centred. The importance of attention and action to reduce stigma is critical in the current geopolitical and funding crisis affecting HIV and global health.