Communities are a unique force behind the incredible success of the HIV response.
Of the 37.9 million people living with HIV at the end of 2018, 79% received testing, 62% received treatment, and 53% had achieved suppression of the HIV virus with no risk of infecting others. Thousands of community health workers and members of the HIV and key population networks – many of whom are living with HIV or affected by the epidemic – contributed to this success.
Global leaders recognized the essential role that communities play in ending AIDS and achieving health for all in the first-ever UN declaration on universal health coverage and the “Global action plan for healthy lives and well-being for all”, approved by Member States in September 2019.
On World AIDS Day 2019, WHO is highlighting the difference these communities are making to end HIV while drawing global attention to the need for broader engagement with them to strengthen primary health care.
WHO will join the Government of Rwanda and partners in commemorating World AIDS Day 2019 on 1 December in Kigali, Rwanda. The campaign leads to the 20th International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa (ICASA2019), taking place in Kigali, Rwanda on 2–7 December 2019.