Numbers of new HIV infections in the Middle East and North Africa increased by 116% between 2010 and 2023. The HIV response remains a long way from achieving coverage targets for HIV by 2025. Yet, with HIV prevalence still very low, the region can rapidly reduce the number of new infections if countries take appropriate and effective actions that meet the needs of the populations most at risk of HIV. Ostracized and criminalized populations are disproportionally affected by the HIV epidemic. People from key populations and their sex partners accounted for an estimated 84% of new HIV infections in 2022, with gay men and other men who have sex with men experiencing especially steep rises in numbers of new HIV infections. Almost 20% of new HIV infections in the region were in young people aged 15–24 years, the majority of them male (55%). These epidemic patterns underscore the need for scaled-up HIV interventions for people from key populations and especially young people, and for reducing the societal and structural barriers that limit their access to needed services.
