HIV Treatment

Overview

The worldwide expansion of HIV treatment services remains one of the great achievements in the history of global health. As of 2022, 29.8 million of people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy, up from 7.7 million in 2010. Among people accessing HIV treatment in 2022, 93% (79–>98%) were virally suppressed. AIDS-related deaths have declined by 69% since the peak in 2004 and by 51% since 2010. However, HIV treatment coverage remains higher among adults than among children and among pregnant women compared to men. The Joint Programme has played a key role in the HIV treatment gains, including through the establishment and monitoring of the 90–90–90 and subsequent 95–95–95 targets and through extensive technical support to country stakeholders to overcome treatment barriers and accelerate progress.

Joint Programme Results

In 2022-2023, support from the Joint Programme further helped countries align their national testing and treatment programmes with the latest evidence-informed normative guidance developed by WHO. Among countries supported by the Joint Programme, 34% fully updated their national recommendations on all three policy components (HIV testing, treatment and service delivery) and 91% adopted the WHO-preferred first-line antiretroviral combination for treatment initiation. Globally, more than 95% of countries have adopted the recommended “treat-all” approach; 102 countries have adopted policies on HIV self-testing; and 98 countries are procuring at least one type of self-test.

The Joint Programme promoted, guided and supported the scale up of differentiated HIV service delivery including their integration of in national HIV strategies and funding proposals for the Global Fund’s GC7 round. In 2023, more than 90% of low- and middle-income countries were integrating other health services into HIV services, though less than 40% were delivering antiretroviral therapy at primary health care and community levels.

Efforts continued to expand access to HIV services to vulnerable people such as more than 240 000 workers provided with HIV testing and catalysed scale-up of HIV treatment and care for forcibly displaced and stateless persons in humanitarian and emergency settings. To improve the affordability and accessibility of HIV and other essential medicines, the Joint Programme guidance for legal reform and regulatory systems, supported more than 50 countries to increase their access to health technologies, including a new initiative to build robust and resilient local manufacturing capacity in 10 countries.

Joint Programme Specific Outputs

2.1 Strategic convening of scientists, communities and multisectoral stakeholders, including through international fora and expert reports, to ensure the most up-to-date evidence and innovations for HIV testing, treatment, care, support integrated services and develop normative, strategic and implementation guidance.

2.2 Provide policy, advocacy and technical support to countries to update/adopt and implement national policies and service delivery programmes aligned with the new global guidance for effective scaling up of quality HIV testing, treatment, care and integrated services including those for comorbidities and coinfections, and related access and update monitoring, and share good practices.