HIV was supposed to kill them. Now they could help scientists find a cure.

Paul Boakye was diagnosed with HIV in 1986 and was told he might not live to 30. Now 63 and symptom-free, he is among the rare “elite controllers” whose immune systems keep HIV in check without treatment, offering researchers clues to a possible functional cure.

Elite controllers make up less than 0.5 per cent of people infected with HIV. Although effective medicines can prevent and treat the virus, they must be taken for life, and cost and access remain barriers. The article says about 1.2 million people acquired HIV in 2025 and around 570,000 died from related causes; research inspired by elite controllers has prompted strategies now being evaluated in clinical trials.