With guidance and support from the Joint Programme, at least 85 countries improved their policies and/or strategies on combination HIV prevention for key populations and other populations at risk of HIV in 2022-2023. Better targeted prevention programmes expanded in 83 countries as a result of technical and/or implementation support provided by the Joint Programme. The support focused on scale-up of combination HIV prevention in diverse settings, including: innovative outreach to marginalized communities; expansion of prevention options including through integration with services for preventing other sexually transmitted infections and promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights.
The Global HIV Prevention Coalition is catalysing tangible improvements in high-burden and high-incidence countries, with new HIV infections in Coalition focus countries declining by 66% since 2010––a steeper decline than in other countries. The number of focus countries increased from 28 to 38, and Coalition prevention scorecards enhanced granular tracking and accountability for results on HIV prevention. Under the Coalition umbrella, a community of practice on key populations and a South-to-South learning network helped share new knowledge, including good practices.
Normative guidance developed by the Joint Programme, informed by the latest research, pointed national partners towards the most effective prevention approaches to close gaps and achieve more equal access to HIV services. WHO developed and launched consolidated guidelines on HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care for key populations; new recommendations on the dapivirine vaginal ring for HIV prevention among women; and guidance on the preventive use of long-acting injectable cabotegravir. The Joint Programme developed a population size estimation tool to inform better targeted programmes for priority populations.
Millions of adolescents & youth benefit from prevention and sexual and reproductive health services and comprehensive sexuality education reached 20 million young people.
Other prevention progress that the Joint Programme contributed to include: an increased uptake of voluntary medical male circumcision (15 countries and in refugee settings in 27 countries); the promotion of male engagement for improved HIV cascade, catalysed implementation and uptake of opioid agonist therapy across multiple regions; guided prevention strategies and activities for drug use and HIV (24 countries) and for HIV in prisons (30 countries); and, implemented evidence-based interventions to transform unequal gender norms in more than 20 countries.
