According to a new WHO progress report, the major obstacle for everyone with HIV to receive antiretroviral therapy (ART) is the lack of HIV diagnosis facilities. The report also reveals that more than 18 million people with HIV are currently taking ART, and a similar number is still unable to access treatment. The majority of the general population though, are unaware of their HIV positive status. Today, 40% of all people with HIV (over 14 million) remain unaware of their status. Many of these are people at higher risk of HIV infection who often find it difficult to access existing testing services.
On World AIDS Day 2016, WHO will be promoting new innovative HIV testing policies, urging countries and communities to deploy high-impact prevention services, and further expand early and quality treatment for all that would address geographical disparities and leaving no one behind.
The South-East Asia Region of WHO is home to the second highest number of people with HIV after sub-Saharan Africa, at an estimate of 3.5 million people living with HIV of whom about 1.4 million are on treatment. The expansion of HIV treatment has resulted in a 47% decline in new infections in the Region in 2015 compared with 2010.