Significant progress against HIV epidemic in Africa

These data are the first to emerge from the Population HIV Impact Assessment (PHIA) Project, a unique, multi-country initiative funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The Project deploys household surveys, which measure the reach and impact of HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in select countries. ICAP at Columbia University is implementing the PHIA Project in close collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in partnership with ministries of health.

Importantly, the data positively demonstrate that the 90-90-90 global targets set forth by UNAIDS in 2014 are attainable, even in some of the poorest countries in the world. According to these ambitious targets for 2020, the goal is for 90 percent of people with HIV to be diagnosed, 90 percent of those diagnosed to receive HIV treatment, and 90 percent of those on treatment to be effectively treated and achieve suppression of their infection. This would translate to 73 percent of all HIV-positive people being virally suppressed. The data show that once diagnosed, individuals are accessing treatment, staying on treatment, and their viral load levels are suppressed to levels that maintain their health and dramatically decrease transmission to others.