Global HIV response

The fight against HIV/AIDS has evolved significantly over the past two decades, transforming from a seemingly unstoppable pandemic into a manageable health crisis through sustained global efforts.

Collaboration among governments, communities and international organisations has been pivotal in addressing HIV/AIDS.

By expanding access to antiretroviral therapy, the number of people receiving life-saving treatment has increased.

The most significant progress is happening in countries with a strong political commitment to prioritising people and investing in proven strategies. These countries focus on inclusive, rights-respecting approaches and actively involve affected communities in the HIV response. They work to eliminate societal and structural barriers such as discriminatory laws, gender inequality, stigma, and human rights violations that hinder individuals from protecting their health and well-being.

Key global statistics

The latest key global statistics reported by UNAIDS include:

4 million deaths to date
3 million people became newly infected with HIV in 2022
39 million people living with HIV in 2022
8 million people living with HIV were accessing antiretroviral therapy in 2022, up from 7.7 million in 2010
2 million people living with HIV did not have access to antiretroviral treatment in 2022
New HIV infections have been reduced by 59% since the peak in 1995
AIDS-related deaths have decreased by 69% since the peak in 2004 and by 51% since 2010

While the journey requires continued bold leadership and action, the clear way forward offers hope for a future where AIDS no longer poses a significant threat to global health.

Global Targets

In 2014, the UN Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced ambitious new global targets to end the HIV epidemic by 2030. These targets became known as 90-90-90 targets. These targets have since been updated for 2025 with the target of:

95 per cent of people living with HIV will know their HIV status
95 per cent of people diagnosed with HIV will receive antiretroviral treatment
95 per cent of people who are on treatment will have suppressed viral loads.

UN Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS, 2021

International declarations influence Australia’s response to HIV, and it is also a leader in this arena. As a co-facilitator of the UNAIDS 2021 political declaration on HIV and AIDS, which set ambitious targets for the global response, Australia exceeds many of the commitments and expectations outlined in the declaration. Given Australia’s global leadership in developing the political declaration, Australia has a solid impetus to demonstrate how its statements, goals and targets are progressing in its domestic HIV response.

The Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030 was adopted in June 2021 and outlines a comprehensive strategy to combat HIV/AIDS. It emphasises the importance of addressing social, economic, racial and gender inequalities that exacerbate the spread of HIV.

The declaration calls for a global commitment to achieve ambitious targets, such as reducing new HIV infections to fewer than 370,000 annually and HIV-related deaths to fewer than 250,000 annually by 2025. It also highlights the need for universal access to HIV prevention, testing, treatment and support services, ensuring no one is left behind. It commits to achieving the 95–95–95 testing, treatment and viral suppression targets within all demographics, groups and geographic settings.

The declaration underscores the critical role of community-led responses and the need for sustained political will and funding to achieve these goals. It acknowledges the disproportionate impact of HIV on marginalised populations, including women and girls, young people, key populations (such as sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, and transgender people) and people in humanitarian settings.

The document calls for eliminating discriminatory laws and policies, promoting human rights and integrating HIV responses with broader health and development efforts. By addressing these interconnected issues, the declaration aims to get on track to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Implications of UN Political Declaration for Australia’s HIV response

Health Equity Matters produced an Implementing the 2021 UN Political Declaration on HIV in Australia that outlines the concrete actions that need to be taken to continue the momentum towards achieving our national goals:

Optimise access to combination prevention: Expand national targeted prevention programs to maximise reach among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, especially subgroups benefiting less from current prevention. Remove restrictive conditions or costs to make prevention, testing, and treatment more accessible.

Strengthen community-led responses with greater national coordination and investment: Innovative community and peer-led HIV and sexual health testing services are effective in reaching gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men but could have a more significant impact with national investment and scaling.
Implement evidence-based strategies to address stigma and discrimination: Develop and focus on interventions to reduce stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV and affected communities to boost HIV prevention, testing and treatment uptake and improve quality of life.
Strengthen social enablers by removing social and legal barriers: Safeguard the rights of people living with and affected by HIV by aligning migration, public health, criminal and policing laws with public health goals.
Fill gaps in monitoring and surveillance and strengthen community data collection: Enhance HIV surveillance and research programs to reflect diverse populations. Support community organisations in collecting meaningful, consistent, and timely data on the impact of community programs.