An analysis of the HIV care continuum in Europe finds that the Western part of the region is doing well at getting its population of those living with the virus diagnosed, on antiretrovirals (ARVs) and virally suppressed, aidsmap reports. Meanwhile, Central and Eastern Europe lag behind on these measures.
In 2014, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) called on nations to get 90 percent of their HIV populations diagnosed, 90 percent of that group on ARVs and 90 percent of that group virally suppressed. Achieving these so-called 90-90-90 targets by 2020 (which translates to an overall viral suppression rate of 73 percent), the agency has projected, will set the stage for ending HIV as a major public health threat by 2030.
Publishing their findings in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, researchers at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control sent questionnaires in 2016 to health authorities in the 55 nations included in the World Health Organization (WHO)–defined European region.
Forty-eight nations (87 percent) responded with at least some HIV surveillance data, excluding Russia, a nation with a critically worsening epidemic. Forty-four nations provided information about diagnosis, treatment and viral suppression, while 29 nations provided information on all those three measures plus the total HIV population living in each country.
Looking at those 29 nations, the researchers found that, following the 90-90-90 formula, all of Europe had achieved an end result of 81-84-88, while the result was 84-88-90 for Western Europe, 84-69-62 for Central Europe and 57-45-57 for Eastern Europe. This meant that the viral suppression rate for the HIV population was 67 percent in all of Europe, 66 percent in Western Europe, 36 percent in Central Europe and just 14 percent in Eastern Europe.
Denmark and Sweden have each achieved the 90-90-90 targets, while the United Kingdom has reached the end-result target of getting 73 percent of its HIV population virally suppressed.
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