For many migrant communities from sub-Saharan Africa, HIV is layered with silence, stigma and fear. In those settings, standard public health messaging is not always enough. Resources need to be shaped in a way that speaks directly to the community. Collins Adu, a PhD candidate at the Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW Sydney, has developed a community-led HIV awareness brochure designed specifically for migrants from sub-Saharan African communities living in Australia.

To mark World AIDS Day, we spoke with Dr Bruce Agins, founder of the Southeast Asia Stigma Reduction Quality Improvement Learning Network. Drawing on four decades in HIV care, Bruce shares how quality improvement offers a practical, data driven way to reduce stigma and embed change across health systems.

Meet Tung Doan, Executive Director of Lighthouse Vietnam and member of the Southeast Asia Stigma Reduction QI Learning Network. Tung co created Vietnam’s first national HIV friendly service guidelines with policymakers and communities, helping reshape HIV care and reduce stigma in practice.

Stigma reduction campaigns are built on good intentions, but good intentions don’t guarantee good outcomes. If we want campaigns that actually reduce harm, we have to acknowledge how different audiences interpret these messages, how systems generate stigma, and how language and power shape the impact. Here’s how.