“2025 USCHA Reflections” by Wanda Brendle-Moss
Posted: October 24, 2025
Attending the USCHA conference this year was an important reminder of the power that we have together for ending the HIV epidemic, which includes addressing the needs of people living with HIV who also experience other social and health challenges.
This year’s focus was on “Aging with HIV,” an issue of critical importance to the 2000-plus attendees! When we think of aging with HIV, it’s not just us in our 50s, 60s or 70s; we have to remember the younger people, the “Lifetime Survivors”. These are folks who were born with HIV or contracted it at a very young age and have never really known a life without HIV, like we older folks! Reflecting on the diversity of experiences with HIV and our unique contributions to the bigger movement was part of the beauty of this year’s conference, which I was fortunate to share with my friend, Harold Phillips, NMAC’s newly appointed CEO.
The conference presented tracks that included sessions for everyone aging with HIV, regardless of age, where we reflected on challenges that people aging with HIV are facing that compound with age, and how systems and policies are not always inclusive of us, resulting in barriers to accessing important services and barriers to our well-being.
As an alumni of the HIV 50+ Strong and Healthy Cohort and one of the Co-Chairs of the National HIV and Aging Awareness Network (NHAAN), I found each of the sessions right on point with the issues we are facing, often on a daily basis. It was a privilege to attend the current 50+ Cohorts’ graduation, get to celebrate together, and carry on the learning of the conference using powerful resources like the ones developed as part of the “Let’s Stop HIV Together ” campaign.
The Cohort and all other USCHA attendees left the conference energized and anxious to attend the 2026 USCHA in Anaheim, California! But not before they return home to put the skills they learned to good use in the efforts towards ending the HIV epidemic!
To learn more about HIV treatment, access the Stop HIV Together resources here: https://bit.ly/nmac_togetherENG