A report analyzing the biomedical, policy, and social interventions implemented in six regions has shown how these efforts have reduced new HIV diagnoses and AIDS-related deaths across the world, according to recent research presented at a press conference at the International Aids Society (IAS) Conference on HIV Science in Mexico City.

“This report highlights the reality that progress toward ending HIV shouldn’t be limited by geography or demographics,” Greg Millett, vice president and director of public policy at The Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), stated in a press release. “It also highlights how much easier we can achieve our goal by continuing to invest in scientific research, as well as policies that promote human rights.”

Doctor on Tablet. Source: Getty Images

amfAR, together with AVAC, and Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, announced their report at the IAS conference, which included data from San Francisco, Calif.; London, United Kingdom; Malawi; Rakai, Uganda; Thailand; and New South Wales, Australia.

“This report provides a new narrative,” Chris Collins, president of Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, stated in the release. “Ending the epidemic isn’t an insurmountable challenge but a question of putting the evidence to work and scaling access, particularly for those most at risk. It won’t be easy anywhere, but it is possible everywhere.”

Success in these six countries was in part due to HIV testing campaigns for the general population and those who are most affected, free and easy access to treatment at diagnosis, implementation of HIV prevention measures like prophylaxis and harm reduction, and efforts to reduce stigma and discrimination through human rights-based services and social support.

“To eliminate HIV worldwide, we need not just great prevention tools, but also strategic and impactful investments and policies,” Adeeba Kamarulzaman, president-elect of the International AIDS Society, stated in the press release. “The report provides important new analysis of what has worked and what can be scaled to build on this success.”

In the African country of Malawi, 3,000 people were being treated when the national treatment program launched in 2004, which reached 100,000 men in 2016 who had access to these programs, which included voluntary male circumcision and antiretroviral treatment.

“There is nothing easy about achieving epidemic control, but in Malawi, a country with few resources, we have found that innovation and early adoption of new guidelines is key to rapid scale up of treatment and prevention,” Maureen Luba, Africa Regional Advocacy Advisor for AVAC, said. “With 91% of people who are aware of their status on HIV treatment, Malawi is beginning to show progress on the way to ending the epidemic. But we can’t declare success too soon; we can’t step back now in Malawi or anywhere else.”