People don’t live on the care cascade: The life of the HIV care cascade as an international AIDS policy and its implications

ABSTRACT

This article analyses how the HIV care cascade, an analytical tool, has become a policy practice that determines the direction and content of international AIDS policy. It traces the development of the cascade through from its emergence around 2011 to its position framing global AIDS policy by 2018. The article distinguishes between the cascade model as a mapping tool and the care cascade as a policy that aims to end the AIDS epidemic. It then argues that the move from an analytical to a policy tool has important implications, both for the scope of policies and for policy-relevant research. It concludes by considering its implications in determining policy direction. The qualitative research that informs the article is based on published care cascade research and policy documents, and observations of the presentations and discussions at the 2012 and 2018 International AIDS Conferences (IAS). The article uses textual analysis to develop its argument.

KEYWORDS:

• Adherence
• context
• research
• international organizations
• global policy

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no 667526). The views expressed here reflect only the author’s view and that the Agency is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.