Focus on Key Populations Remains Integral to the HIV Response

What if a global HIV response no longer targeted key populations (including gay and other men who have sex with men, transgender people, sex workers, and people who inject drugs) and their sexual partners, who account for over half of all new infections?

What if efforts to prevent HIV among these same groups were increased?

A new report by amfAR’s Public Policy Office provides answers by analyzing HIV epidemics in 25 countries receiving assistance from PEPFAR (the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) in FY2024.

Progress in the prevention of HIV has been significant overall—with the introduction of new HIV prevention medications and technologies which have the potential to reshape the global landscape. However, members of key populations and their partners continue to suffer disproportionately high rates of HIV and have need for targeted prevention efforts in order to benefit equally from these advancements.

Estimates show that key populations and their partners accounted for 55% of new HIV infections globally in 2022 and 49% of global new HIV infections in 2024. While global health program funding from PEPFAR and the Global Fund have long recognized the importance of prioritizing prevention efforts and other services tailored to key populations, current funding trends and shifted priorities threaten to derail this progress.

Highlights of the report’s findings:

• Failing to prevent HIV in key populations in 25 PEPFAR countries would reverse national trends in HIV prevention by adding an average of 430,000 new HIV infections a year and resulting in over 4.7 million new HIV infections by 2035.
• Conversely, increased efforts to prevent new HIV infections among key populations could drop total annual new HIV infection rates by 65% to nearly 126,000 across 25 PEPFAR countries with the right investments.

Read the Issue Brief here.

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