Background
Knowing your HIV status is the gateway to prevention and treatment services.
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region
530,000
are the estimated number of people living with HIV (PLHIV)
38%
have been diagnosed
28%
are receiving treatment
24%
have achieved viral load suppression
The theme of this year’s World AIDs Day campaign is HIV testing. The WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is launching an HIV testing week from 1 to 7 December 2024 to promote differentiated person-centred testing approaches such as HIV self-testing, network-based testing and the use of virtual interventions and digital platforms to encourage at-risk individuals to get tested for HIV.
Key messages
- Know your status: testing for HIV is the first step to prevention and treatment. Get tested and take control of your health.
- Early detection: the sooner you know your HIV status, the sooner you can access treatment, improve your health outcomes and reduce risk of transmission to others.
- Confidential and accessible testing: HIV testing is confidential, and with new testing models it’s never been as easy or accessible.
- Empower yourself and others: encourage friends and loved ones to get tested.
Posters
Regional Director's message
This World AIDS Day, I want to emphasize the importance of knowing one’s HIV status. There are an estimated 530 000 people living with HIV in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, but just 38% of them know that they are HIV positive.
Only those who know their [HIV] status can access treatment, live healthy lives and prevent transmission to others.
Providing voluntary HIV testing services must remain a priority for all our countries, along with ensuring access to treatment and care. And those who test negative should have access to prevention services to help them stay HIV free.
