The UNAIDS document, Progress towards the 95–95–95 HIV Testing, Treatment, and Viral Suppression Targets, outlines a critical framework in the global fight against HIV/AIDS. The 95-95-95 HIV targets emphasize aggressive goals for testing, treatment, and viral load suppression to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

What Are the 95-95-95 HIV Targets?

Adopted in June 2021 by UN Member States, the 95-95-95 HIV targets build on the earlier 90-90-90 framework. They aim to accelerate progress in testing, treatment, and viral suppression worldwide. These targets are part of the UNAIDS Fast-Track strategy, ensuring access to HIV services for all age groups, demographics, and regions.

The Three Pillars of the Targets

1. First 95: 95% of people living with HIV must know their status.
   • Numerator: People diagnosed with HIV.
   • Denominator: All people living with HIV.
2. Second 95: 95% of those diagnosed must receive treatment.
   • Numerator: People on HIV treatment.
   • Denominator: People who know their status.
3. Third 95: 95% of treated individuals must achieve viral suppression.
   • Numerator: People with suppressed viral loads.
   • Denominator: People on treatment.

Addressing the Healthcare Cascade

The 95-95-95 HIV targets directly tackle the healthcare cascade challenges that often undermine disease management and elimination efforts. These challenges arise at multiple stages, including diagnosis, treatment initiation, adherence, and achieving desired health outcomes.

Bridging Gaps in Diagnosis and Treatment

The healthcare cascade often starts with undiagnosed individuals who unknowingly live with the disease. The HIV targets aim to eliminate this barrier by emphasizing robust testing strategies. By ensuring that 95% of people living with HIV know their status, programs can capture more patients at the entry point.

Ensuring Treatment Retention

Many healthcare cascades see significant dropout after diagnosis, as individuals fail to start or stay on treatment. The HIV targets address this by focusing on treatment uptake, with 95% of those diagnosed receiving antiretroviral therapy. Retention programs and patient-centered care models are critical to meeting this goal.

Achieving Viral Suppression

The final stage of the cascade is often marked by suboptimal treatment adherence and incomplete viral suppression. The HIV targets emphasize achieving suppressed viral loads in 95% of those on treatment. This focus not only improves individual health outcomes but also reduces community-level transmission risks, driving towards elimination.

Why the 95-95-95 HIV Targets Matter

Driving Program Success

The HIV targets provide a clear way to measure program effectiveness. They pinpoint barriers in testing, care linkage, treatment retention, and viral suppression. Identifying these gaps ensures resources are directed where they are most needed.

Reducing Disparities

These targets promote equity in HIV services. They ensure access across sub-populations, age groups, and regions, reducing disparities and closing treatment gaps.

Supporting Global and Regional Tracking

The HIV targets create a unified framework to track progress at global and regional levels. Countries can compare achievements, share insights, and focus efforts on lagging areas.

Improving Health and Economics

Meeting these targets will save lives and reduce healthcare costs. Suppressing HIV through effective treatment lowers new infections and AIDS-related deaths. Using affordable generic medications amplifies these benefits.

Sustaining the HIV Response

The HIV targets integrate HIV care into broader health systems. This approach strengthens health infrastructure and ensures long-term success in combating the epidemic.

A Path to Ending HIV/AIDS

The 95-95-95 HIV targets are more than metrics. They are a roadmap to a future free from HIV/AIDS stigma, inequities, and health disparities. By achieving these goals, we can make the vision of ending AIDS by 2030 a reality.