Putting People living with HIV and communities at risk at the centre
2025 AIDS targets: the next generation of goals for the global AIDS response
As the Fast-Track era draws to a close, a global effort to plot the future course of the HIV response has developed a set of interim targets for 2025 that need to be achieved to reach the 2030 HIV targets within the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2025 targets focus on three interlinked areas – the enabling environment (the 10s), service access (the 95s), and service integration – with at-risk communities and people living with HIV at the centre.
- ‘The 10s’ call for the removal of societal and legal barriers to HIV services. They state that by 2025, less than 10% of countries should have punitive laws and policies in place that target people living with HIV, or marginalised populations; less than 10% of people experience stigma and discrimination, and less than 10% of people experience gender inequality or violence.
- ‘The 95s’ call for 95% testing, treatment and viral suppression targets. As well as 95% access to combination prevention services; 95% access to sexual reproductive health services; and 95% coverage of prevention of mother-to-child transmission services.
- Integration, calling for 90% of people living with HIV, and people at heightened risk of HIV, being linked to services important for their overall health. These include mental health, preventing and addressing gender-based violence, sexual reproductive health and rights, communicable and non-communicable disease services.
The 2025 targets place far greater emphasis on the removing societal and legal impediments to service delivery, and on linking or integrating the provision of HIV services with the other services needed by people living with HIV and communities at risk to stay healthy and build sustainable livelihoods. Achieving the targets for societal enablers and integrated service delivery are critical to achieving the high coverage called for within the six areas of HIV service targets. Each of the three target areas defines packages of targets for people living with HIV and communities at risk that are tailored to their needs. The braiding together of efforts to achieve all three categories of targets is critical to successful and sustainable scale up. The 2025 targets also recognize that the HIV response sits within a wider effort to end poverty, fulfill the right to health and other human rights and other goals within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Frameworks and concepts for the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals cut across the 2025 targets.
Quotes
“The new targets for 2025 are indeed more ambitious compared to the ones for 2020; actually, they have to be to inform the design of effective programmes for the future.”
Peter Ghys Director, Strategic Information Department, UNAIDS
“Because of the lack of progress in the last few years, the resource needs will now peak at US$ 29 billion by 2025 instead of peaking at US$ 26 billion by 2020 and will then decrease. If countries achieve these ambitious targets, a larger number of people will benefit by receiving needed services, and a wider benefit will be achieved as the AIDS epidemic will transit into a controlled phase; the resource needs will stop growing, then start declining”.
Jose A. Izazola Special Adviser, Resource Tracking and Finances, UNAIDS
“Targets are also needed for HIV science. Having ambitious targets is not contradictory with being realistic. Actually, one aspect supports the other.”
Birgit Poniatowski International AIDS Society