Egypt

Key Results in 2022-2023

HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STI) prevention, testing and treatment services were significantly scaled up for key populations--over 71 000 gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs and people in prisons accessed these services in 2023.
More than 2100 healthcare providers improved their capacity for delivering quality and stigma-free HIV services among vulnerable and key populations.
HIV response in humanitarian settings was strengthened with over 3100 migrants and displaced people improving their knowledge of HIV prevention and accessing treatment services.
Technical and financial stakeholders were successfully mobilized to encourage innovations and support integration of services for a more sustainable, effective and efficient national HIV response.

Joint Programme Results

In Egypt, the Joint Programme made substantial contributions towards improving access to HIV prevention information and services, including opioid agonist therapy (OAT) and needles and syringes programmes to curb new HIV infections among young people and key populations. For instance, more than 100 000 young people were engaged in offline and online HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) campaigns during the 2023 World AIDS Day and Zero Discrimination Day commemorations. In seven governorates, more than 307 000 needles and syringes and over 19 000 condoms were distributed to nearly 20 000 people who inject drugs through a partnership with 11 civil society organizations (UNDP, UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat). With financial and technical support from the Joint Programme, five new sites introduced OAT services in 2023, benefiting 240 people who inject drugs (UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat). To further prevent HIV transmission, 260 serodiscordant couples also started pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), preparing the ground for a PrEP pilot among gay men and other men who have sex with men planned for 2024. Over 41 000 gay men and other men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and female sex workers received voluntary HIV testing through community-based and governmental facilities supported by the Joint Programme (UNDP, UNODC, UNAIDS Secretariat).

HIV services were also scaled up in prisons across the country, thanks to the Joint Programme’s technical and financial support to in-prison healthcare facilities and community-led outreach initiatives. Over 42 000 incarcerated people and former prisoners from 13 prisons and their 40 500 family members accessed HIV, hepatitis, sexually transmitted infections and tuberculosis prevention and treatment services during the biennium. In addition, 400 healthcare providers from prison health centres and civil society organizations improved their capacity for delivering voluntary counselling and testing for HIV and other communicable diseases through training sessions (UNODC).

HIV incidence per 1000 uninfected populations

Source: AIDSinfo

AIDS mortality per 1000 population

Source: AIDSinfo

Progress towards 95-95-95 targets

Source: AIDSinfo

In partnership with civil society organizations, integration of HIV, SRH, mental and legal services were strengthened in government- and community-led programmes across nine governorates, benefitting 2871 vulnerable women, including women living with HIV by the end of 2023. A total of 569 people living with HIV also improved their treatment adherence through information sessions. Besides, the first pilot human papillomavirus (HPV) screening programme benefited 519 women, including women living with HIV while 50 healthcare providers improved their capacity of delivering these services in nine sites (UNAIDS Secretariat).

Additionally, 320 healthcare providers from antenatal and primary health care units have improved capacity to deliver quality and stigma-free services for the prevention vertical transmission of HIV (UNICEF, UNAIDS Secretariat). Another 1382 healthcare providers and medical students are better equipped to advocate for a stigma-free healthcare system through workshops supported by the Joint Programme (UNAIDS Secretariat).

Civil society organizations and networks of people living with HIV and key populations were empowered to actively participate in policies formulation and programmes that impact them directly through several capacity building initiatives. For instance, they were engaged in the development of guidelines to reduce sigma and discrimination in healthcare settings. Furthermore, 30 representatives of networks of people living with HIV and key populations strengthened their interpersonal, organizational and advocacy skills for increased engagement in HIV policy and programming (UNAIDS Secretariat).

Towards scaling up the HIV response in humanitarian settings, HIV prevention activities including 14 awareness sessions reached 1674 migrants in three governorates including 1304 vulnerable women (UNAIDS Secretariat, IOM). A total of 749 migrants also accessed free antiretroviral treatment, while three-month antiretroviral treatment packages were procured for 35 people living with HIV in Gaza. In addition, 1040 people who recently relocated from slums to the cities of Alexandria and Cairo accessed HIV and hepatitis screening and counselling services through the 100 Healthy Days campaign (UNAIDS Secretariat).