Half of HIV-Positive People in America Are Undetectable!

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a new surveillance report, estimating that out of the 1.1 million HIV-positive living in America in 2014, 85 percent know their status, 62 percent had access to care (with 48 percent currently in regular care), and 49 percent were undetectable. 

This is incredible news! 

Just this week, UNAIDS released a report called Ending AIDS, which showed that in 2016, 70 percent of people living with HIV in the world knew their status, 77 percent were on treatment, and 82 percent of those on treatment were virally suppressed. These results show we're much closer to attaining the United Nations's 90-90-90 goal.

These results show that the United States is at a better state than most of us realized, though there is still much need for improvement in certain areas, such as the southern states, which make up nearly 32 percent of new HIV diagnoses in the country. 

Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Cambodia and Botswana have already reached the 90-90-90 goals, and other lower to middle-income countries are nearly there as well, reports AIDS Map, which call for 90 percent of people to know their status, 90 percent of poz to be on treatment, and 90 percent of poz people to reach undetectable. 

Programs like the Ryan White Program, AIDS Drug Assistance Programs, Medicaid, and Medicare have helped decrease the rising HIV rates significantly. The United States currently spends around $6 billion each year to supply meds for those across the world. Domestically, America invests $27 billion a year in HIV treatment programs. 

It is because of programs like these we are getting closer to a generation without HIV, but if the Trump administration achieves their dream of defunding these groups — and by that we mean he wants to slice $6 billion spent around the world by 20 percent, requiring $1.1 billion to be taken away from these programs — we will likely see a huge decrease of undetectable poz people, seeing as many low income people won’t be able to afford their meds. 

As a result, the incredible progress made in the last couple decades to decrease HIV transmission is likely to reverse itself in a few short years. We can’t let this happen. The results are real, folks. It’s here!

The only way to go is up. Investments into the health of one is an investment into the health of all.