Cross-posted from HRSA

A new report released today by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) shows that clients receiving Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program medical care were virally suppressed at a record level – 85.9 percent – in 2017. This means people living with HIV who take medication daily as prescribed and achieve and maintain an undetectable viral load have effectively no risk of sexually transmitting the virus to an HIV-negative partner. Funded and led by HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau, the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Annual Client-Level Data Report, 2017 [PDF, 3.8MB], is the fourth annual publication of national client-level data from the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Services Report (RSR).

"HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program provides a comprehensive system of HIV care and treatment to people living with HIV to improve health outcomes and reduce HIV transmission among hard to reach populations," said HRSA Administrator George Sigounas, MS, Ph.D. "This report underscores the importance of supporting effective models of HIV interventions for linking people living with HIV into care, keeping them in care, and helping them adhere to their HIV medication."

The RSR is HRSA's primary source of annual, client-level data reported by more than 2,000 funded Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program grant recipients and subrecipients across the United States. The publication provides an in-depth look at demographic and socioeconomic factors among program clients to assess the demographics of those receiving services, progress in HIV-related outcomes, and disparities in HIV-related outcomes – particularly viral suppression.

HRSA's Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program funds grants to cities, counties, states, and local community-based organizations to provide a comprehensive system of HIV primary medical care, essential support services, and medications for low-income people living with HIV. The report includes data reported to the RSR for all clients served by Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program Parts A, B, C, and D during calendar years 2013 through 2017.

"In 2017, approximately 535,000 individuals received at least one Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program-funded service," said Laura Cheever, M.D., Sc.M., HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau's Associate Administrator. "This means that more than half of people living with diagnosed HIV in the United States received services through the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program last year."

In addition, the report shows that 85.9 percent of Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program clients were virally suppressed in 2017, which is a 16.4 percentage point increase in viral suppression from 69.5 percent in 2010. This exceeds the national viral suppression average of 59.8 percent.

To access the report, visit https://hab.hrsa.gov/sites/default/files/hab/data/datareports/RWHAP-annual-client-level-data-report-2017.pdf [PDF, 3.8MB]. To learn more about the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program client-level data, visit www.hab.hrsa.gov/data.