How HIV drug HAART transformed a death sentence into a chronic condition

The 30th anniversary of HAART marks how the HIV drug combination transformed an AIDS death sentence into a chronic condition, enabling long-term survival for millions. Introduced as standard care in 1996, HAART followed decades of fear and loss. People diagnosed young, like Richard Keane, expected early death; many now live decades longer, though some face permanent side effects from early experimental drugs. HIV’s legacy reshaped illness rhetoric from victimhood to living with disease, later adopted by cancer and mental health advocates. Gaps remain in targeted HIV messaging for Indigenous communities.