For people living with HIV, being on treatment has two advantages: they stay healthy and, if their viral load is suppressed to undetectable levels, they can’t pass on the virus to their sexual partners.
The number of people living with HIV who are on treatment continues to rise, with an estimated 24.5 million on antiretroviral therapy in mid-2019—more than double the number on treatment in 2012. However, treatment scale-up is still not on track to meet the target by the end of 2020 of 30 million people living with HIV on treatment, and with 37.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2018, the unmet need for treatment is still worryingly large.
