APHA Co-Founder Yvette Raphael Co-Authors New Lancet HIV Review on HIV, Obesity and Stigma

APHA co-founder Yvette Raphael is a co-author of a new review published in The Lancet HIV, one of the world’s leading HIV journals.

The paper, titled "HIV, obesity, and stigma: lessons for programmes, policy, and practice," was published online on 8 November 2026. Yvette co-authored the review alongside Prof. Francois Venter (University of the Witwatersrand),Stephen Ogweno, and Simon Collins.

The Second Stigma

The review addresses an issue familiar to many people living with HIV, but one that rarely gets the attention it deserves.Modern antiretroviral regimens are linked to significant weight gain. As a result, people who once faced stigma related to wasting now frequently face a second, opposite stigma surrounding weight gain and obesity.

The authors demonstrate how weight stigma mirrors HIV stigma: both center on visibility, moral judgment, and the false belief that individuals have complete control over their condition. Both inflict real harm on physical and mental health.Notably, the paper highlights that internalized stigma can persist long after achieving viral suppression or significant weight loss.

Key Paper Recommendations

Drawing on four decades of HIV activism, the paper outlines critical lessons for tackling weight stigma across global health systems:

• Community leadership driving program design and policy

• Rejecting false trade-offs between prevention and treatment

• Fair and equitable access to modern obesity medicines

• Integrating obesity care into established HIV service delivery

Lived Experience at the Center

Living with HIV for over 20 years, Yvette brings the essential perspective of a community activist to the paper's scientific evidence and recommendations. Her involvement reflects APHA’s core belief: lived experience belongs at the very center of HIV research, policy, and implementation.

"Community leadership" is not just one of the paper’s primary recommendations - this publication is a clear example of it in action.

Read the full paper: Read the abstract on The Lancet HIV via ScienceDirect (DOI: 10.1016/S2352-3018(26)00236-5)