On this World AIDS Day we celebrate the progress we have made in the fight against HIV and recommit to the work still to be done. Achieving epidemic control will require that everyone has equal access to treatment and services. We know that key populations -- including sex workers, transgender people, incarcerated people, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs -- face disproportionate structural barriers that impact their ability to access HIV services. USAID provides services in locations where key populations can be served without discrimination, supports clinical services in the community and online, and establishes alternative pick-up points for life-saving medication. In 2021, USAID supported nearly 1.8 million members of key populations with HIV prevention services.

USAID and its partners have made great strides in combating the HIV epidemic over the last year. In 2021, USAID provided nearly seven million clients with life-saving HIV-treatment. Ninety-four percent of beneficiaries who received a viral load test are virally suppressed, meaning that those living with HIV can live longer, healthier lives and the virus cannot be transmitted. Additionally, in 2021, USAID and its partners supported 26 countries to reach over 90 percent viral load suppression, and of those, 13 countries reached over 95 percent viral load suppression.

In 2021, USAID:

• Provided HIV testing services to 22.4 million people;
• Helped 900,000 people learn of their HIV positive status;
• Provided 3.6 million people with packages with at least three-months of medication, helping clients stay on treatment, and protecting them and health care workers alike during the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Initiated more than half a million individuals onto pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) across 32 countries - up from 22 countries in 2020; and,
• Helped strengthen host country systems that drive responsive, resilient, and enduring health care through more than 10,000 HIV testing sites, nearly 9,000 HIV treatment sites, and over 5,000 sites that provide lab-based or point-of-care testing making critical services accessible in over 50 supported PEPFAR countries.

Together with our partners, and the global HIV community, USAID will continue to provide coordinated, cost-effective, and innovative programming to reach our goal of ending the HIV epidemic. We know that there is work still to be done and USAID will continue to provide programming that is equitable and accessible to all.

Additional Information

• Breaking down barriers to care through peers:(link is external)Exit Disclaimer The first USAID project to focus on HIV services specifically for key populations engaged peer mentors to help their friends and communities fight HIV
• https://www.hiv.gov/events/awareness-days/world-aids-day