For more than 40 years, Sahir has stood alongside people living with HIV. We have seen extraordinary progress during that time.

In the early years of the epidemic, an HIV diagnosis was often accompanied by fear and uncertainty. Today, thanks to advances in treatment, people living with HIV can lead long, healthy and fulfilling lives. Modern medication means many people achieve an undetectable viral load, cannot pass HIV on to sexual partners, and can look forward to a normal life expectancy.

Yet for many people, HIV remains a daily reality.

Medication still needs to be taken. Stigma still exists. People continue to face challenges with relationships, mental wellbeing, disclosure and accessing services. That is why the search for an HIV cure remains so important.

Research into a cure is progressing around the world, with researchers exploring a range of exciting approaches. But while researchers may understand the science, it is people living with HIV who understand the reality of living with the condition every day.

What would people want from a future cure? What concerns do they have? What would be important to them? What would make a cure meaningful in their lives?

These are not questions that can be answered in a laboratory.

That is why Sahir is proud to be working alongside Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and George House Trust to bring researchers and people living with HIV together. There is an opportunity for open and honest conversations about the future of HIV cure research and the role that people living with HIV should play in shaping it.

At Sahir, we believe that services, policies and research work best when they are informed by the people they are designed to benefit. Nothing about us without us has long been a principle of HIV activism, and it remains just as relevant today.

Whether someone wants to ask questions, share their experiences or simply listen, their presence matters.

The future of HIV research should not be shaped solely by researchers and institutions. It should be shaped by the voices, experiences and aspirations of people living with HIV themselves.

That conversation starts here in Liverpool, with the voices and experiences of people living with HIV from across Merseyside helping to shape it.