The Ledger · Entry 33
Most people with HIV are now on treatment
Share of people living with HIV who receive antiretroviral therapy
Data: Our World in Data, based on UNAIDS estimates, via the World Bank
In 2000, antiretroviral therapy existed and worked, but only 1% of the people living with HIV worldwide could get it. The drugs were priced for rich countries, and across the places where the epidemic was worst they were almost entirely out of reach.
The key rows
A twenty-year fight over prices, patents, and funding changed that. By 2024, 77% of people living with HIV were on treatment that keeps them healthy and, when it suppresses the virus, stops them passing it on. It is one of the fastest scale-ups of a life-saving medicine ever, and the remaining quarter, often the hardest to reach, is where the epidemic now persists.
Asked often
What share of people with HIV are on treatment?
About 77% of people living with HIV were receiving antiretroviral therapy in 2024, up from just 1% in 2000.
Why does treatment coverage matter for ending HIV?
Antiretroviral therapy keeps people healthy and, when it fully suppresses the virus, prevents transmission. Wider coverage both saves lives and slows new infections.
The world also got better today.
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