End of AIDS still possible by 2030, UN says

The end of AIDS is still possible by 2030, the United Nations has said, but cautioned that the
worlds deadliest pandemic could only be halted if leaders grasped the opportunity.
Zimbabwe, Botswana, Eswatini, Rwanda and Tanzania have already achieved what are called the 95-
95-95 targets.
This means that 95 percent of those living with HIV know their status; 95 percent of those who know
they have HIV are on life-saving anti-retroviral treatment; and 95 percent of people on treatment
achieve viral suppressed.
In all there are eight in Sub-Saharan Africa — the region where 65 percent of HIV-positive people live
— and Denmark, Kuwait and Thailand.
AIDS can be ended by 2030," the UNAIDS agency said as it outlined a roadmap of investment,
evidence-based prevention and treatment and tackling the inequalities that are currently holding
back progress.
UNAIDS said that ending the pandemic was, above all, a political and financial choice.
Success is possible — in this decade, said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima.
“The end of AIDS is an opportunity for a uniquely powerful legacy for today’s leaders.
They could be remembered by future generations as those who put a stop to the world’s deadliest
pandemic. They could save millions of lives and protect the health of everyone. They could show
what leadership can do, she added.
The UN first set out in 2015 the target of ending AIDS as a public health threat by 2030.
In 2022, UNAIDS says an estimated 39 million people around the world were living with HIV, of
whom 29.8 million were accessing anti-retroviral therapy. Those missing out include 660,000
children.
The numbers on anti-retroviral treatment have near quadrupled from 7.7 million on 2010, according
to the agency.
Byanyima said the greatest progress on HIV — the virus that causes AIDS — was being made in the
countries and regions that have invested strongly.
She cited eastern and southern Africa, where new HIV infections have dropped by 57 percent since
2010.
Its report, however, added that there has been a steep increase in new infections in Eastern Europe
and Central Asia, as well as in the Middle East and North Africa.
These trends are due primarily to a lack of HIV prevention services for marginalised and key
populations and the barriers posed by punitive laws and social discrimination, the report said.
Last year, 1.3 million people became newly infected with HIV and 630,000 died from AIDS-related
illnesses, according to UNAIDS.