Middle East 90 90 90 Progress

The Middle East has one of the lowest prevalence rates for HIV in the world. Despite this, progress towards the UNAIDS 90 90 90 targets is low. There is still deep stigma across the Middle East towards people with HIV and how they are treated.

What is 90 90 90?

The UN wants all countries to be targeting the treatment of people who are HIV positive. This is a key part of their strategy to reduce HIV. The 90 90 90 targets are:

90% of those living with HIV will know their status
90% of those who know their status will be on medication
90% of those who are on medication will have an undetectable viral load.

Having an undetectable HIV viral load means that you cannot pass the virus on. Undetectable means Untransmittable, and is part of the U=U campaign. This is a key part of preventing more people getting HIV.

How is the Middle East doing?

For a region with a low number of people with HIV, there is still a long way to go to meet the UNAIDS targets. The Middle East is:

50% of those living with HIV know their status
59% of those who know their status are on medication
76% of those taking medication are virally suppressed

This shows that coming forward for HIV testing is still low. Showing the cultural and religious stigmas attached with sex outside of marriage and getting a life saving test. Of those that know their status, 4 out of 10 are choosing not to have life saving medication. Not only does this harm themselves, but it also means that they are can pass the virus on. Finally 1 in 4 are not virally suppressed. This could be because they are not taking their medication regularly.

If you are living in the Middle East, then having an HIV test should be part of your healthcare regime. This test could save your life.

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