WHO: Integration, innovation and community leadership key to ending HIV, hepatitis and STIs

The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched a new report assessing progress in implementing the Global Health Sector Strategies (GHSS) on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) for 2022–2030. Released during the 26th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2026) and ahead of World Hepatitis Day (28 July), the report highlights significant achievements and persistent challenges in the global response to these epidemics. "This report tells two stories. It demonstrates what is possible when countries invest in health, communities and science. But it also shows how quickly progress can be undone with funding disruptions, humanitarian emergencies and persistent inequalities,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Over the next five years, we must build integrated, resilient health systems that reach those furthest behind." By the end of 2025, an estimated 32 million people living with HIV were receiving treatment and since 2010, new HIV infections have fallen by 42% and AIDS-related deaths by 57%. Yet 9 million people still lack access to life-saving HIV treatment, and new infections continue to rise in several regions, particularly among key populations including men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people and people in prisons. Progress has also been made in the response to viral hepatitis. Since 2015, annual hepatitis B infections have decreased by 32%, and hepatitis C-related deaths have fallen by 12% globally. Despite these gains, viral hepatitis remains one of the world’s deadliest infectious diseases, claiming an estimated 1.3 million lives in 2024, with mortality continuing to rise. Progress in the global response to STIs has been mixed. Countries have strengthened national policies and improved syphilis screening and treatment in pregnancy, while HPV vaccination coverage has increased modestly. At the same time, STI rates are rising in several countries and communities, while there is growing resistance to antibiotics used to treat gonorrhoea.Remaining challengesDespite progress, major gaps continue to hinder efforts to eliminate HIV, viral hepatitis and STIs by 2030. For HIV, reductions in international donor funding in 2025 disrupted prevention programmes in several countries, including access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Although some governments have stepped in to sustain services, preliminary data indicate that PrEP use has declined in a number of countries and communities. For viral hepatitis, deaths linked to hepatitis B have increased by 17% since 2015. Diagnosis and treatment coverage remain low, particularly for hepatitis B, despite the availability of highly effective medicines that could prevent millions of deaths.