The report, ‘The Path that Ends AIDS’, provides data and case studies that underscore that ending AIDS is a political and financial choice, and that countries and leaders already on this path are achieving extraordinary results.
A new report released by UNAIDS shows a pathway that will help end AIDS, prepare for and overcome future pandemics, and accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals.
Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zimbabwe have already achieved the 95-95-95 targets. This means that 95% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 95% of people who know they are living with HIV are receiving life-saving antiretroviral treatment, and 95% of people on treatment are virally suppressed. Another 16 countries, eight of which are in sub-Saharan Africa, a region that accounts for 65% of all people living with HIV, are also close to this point.
“Ending AIDS is an opportunity for today’s leaders to leave a unique legacy,” said Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Future generations will remember them as the ones who stopped the world’s deadliest pandemic. They could have saved millions of lives and protected everyone’s health. They could have shown what leadership can do.”
The report emphasizes that the HIV response is most successful when it is based on strong political leadership. This means using data, science and evidence; tackling inequalities that hinder progress; empowering communities and civil society organizations to play a vital role in the response; and ensuring adequate and sustainable funding.
The greatest progress has been made in the countries and regions that have received the most financial investment, such as Eastern and Southern Africa, where the number of new HIV infections has decreased by 57% since 2010.
Thanks to support and investment in ending pediatric AIDS, 82% of pregnant and lactating women living with HIV had access to antiretroviral treatment globally in 2022, up from 46% in 2010. This has led to a 58% reduction in new HIV infections among children from 2010 to 2022, the lowest rate since the 1980s.
Progress in the HIV response has been strengthened by ensuring that legal and policy frameworks do not undermine human rights, but rather promote and protect them. In 2022 and 2023, several countries repealed harmful laws, including five (Antigua and Barbuda, Cook Islands, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Singapore) decriminalizing same-sex sexual activity.
The number of people receiving antiretroviral therapy globally has almost quadrupled, from 7.7 million in 2010 to 29.8 million in 2022.
However, the report also notes that victory over AIDS will not come automatically. In 2022, AIDS claimed a life every minute. About 9.2 million people are still not receiving treatment, including 660,000 children living with HIV.
Women and girls are still disproportionately affected by the epidemic, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2022, 4,000 young women and girls were newly infected with HIV every week worldwide. Only 42% of areas in sub-Saharan Africa with HIV prevalence rates above 0.3% are currently covered by dedicated HIV prevention programs for adolescent girls and young women.
Almost a quarter (23%) of new HIV infections occur in Asia and the Pacific, where some countries are experiencing an alarming increase in the number of new infections. Rapid growth in the number of new infections continues in Eastern Europe and Central Asia (49% increase since 2010), as well as in the Middle East and North Africa (61% increase since 2010). These trends are primarily due to the lack of HIV prevention services for marginalized and key populations, as well as barriers created by punitive laws and social discrimination.
In 2022, funding for HIV also decreased from both international and national sources, returning to the level of 2013. In 2022, funding amounted to USD 20.8 billion, which is significantly less than the USD 29.3 billion needed by 2025.
There is an opportunity now to end the AIDS epidemic by strengthening political will, investing in a sustainable response to the HIV epidemic, and funding what matters most: evidence-based HIV prevention and treatment, health systems integration, non-discriminatory laws, gender equality and expanded community networks.
“We are full of hope, but it is not the complacent optimism that would come if everything was going right. Instead, it is a hope that is based on a vision of opportunities for success, opportunities that depend on action,” said Ms. Byanima. “The facts and figures in this report do not show that we as a world are already on that path, they show that we can be. The way is clear.”
It is estimated that in 2022
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In 2022, an estimated:
39.0 million people globally were living with HIV
29.8 million people were accessing antiretroviral therapy
1.3 million people became newly infected with HIV
630 000 people died from AIDS-related illnesses
