Europe is at risk of failing to meet most of its HIV targets set for 2025. This was announced by Teymur Nuri, representative of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), during the EACS 2025 conference.
According to the ECDC, of the eight key indicators, Europe will only meet one by 2025 — the level of viral suppression among people already receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART).
The other targets remain unmet:
- only 345,000 people have access to PrEP instead of the planned 500,000;
- 86% of people with HIV know their status (the target is 95%);
- only 86% of those diagnosed receive ART;
- only 70% of all HIV-positive people have suppressed viral loads;
- the level of stigma and discrimination remains above 10%;
- instead of a 75% reduction in new cases, there has been a 5% increase;
- the HIV mortality rate has increased by 37%.
According to the report, more than 70% of all PrEP users in Europe are concentrated in four countries: the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Spain.
In most other countries, prevention programs are underdeveloped or have long waiting lists. Gender inequality is particularly noticeable: women account for only 2.5% of PrEP users in the region. For comparison, in Ukraine this figure reaches 27%.
The price of generic PrEP drugs in different countries ranges from €3 to €200 per month, and in some countries people are forced to pay more than €500 per month. This financial inaccessibility significantly limits HIV prevention.
Experts emphasize that without public funding for PrEP and large-scale educational programs, Europe will not be able to achieve its goals of reducing new HIV cases.