Closing the gaps in the HIV care continuum
PLOS/Medicine - "July 2017, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) reported the effect of remarkable ongoing successes in the HIV care continuum: of the estimated 33 million HIV-positive persons worldwide, 70% know their status; among those people, 77% (19.5 million) are on antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV and 82% of persons on ART are virally suppressed, indicating successful treatment. The goal set by UNAIDS for the HIV care continuum is to bring about testing of 90% of HIV-positive persons, to initiate ART among 90% of HIV-positive persons tested, and to achieve viral suppression among 90% of those on ART.
This 90-90-90 strategy is expected to achieve control of the HIV epidemic by 2030, with significant health and economic benefits among those treated and from the number of new HIV cases prevented. Although the UNAIDS goal appears to be within reach, innovative approaches are necessary to close the gaps and reach people not already in care in the many different affected countries, and to streamline services to achieve efficiency and preserve or improve quality of services." (Photo: PWRDF/flickr, CC BY 2.0)