Uniting for Change: Transforming the AIDS Response in South-East Asia

On World AIDS Day 2025, WHO's Catharina Boehme called for continued efforts to transform the AIDS response in South-East Asia. While noting progress in reducing new infections and deaths, she emphasized the need for strategic actions, including community testing and access to new prevention tools, to meet global AIDS goals.

On World AIDS Day 2025, Catharina Boehme, Officer-in-Charge for WHO South-East Asia, highlighted the region's concerted efforts alongside governments and communities to address the AIDS epidemic under the theme 'Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response.'

Boehme noted significant progress, with a 62% reduction in AIDS-related deaths and a 32% decline in new infections since 2015. Despite these advancements, the region has yet to meet the global '95-95-95' target to end AIDS by 2030, as 88,000 new infections and 50,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded last year.

Vulnerable populations, particularly young people and key risk groups like men who have sex with men and people who inject drugs, remain disproportionately affected. Boehme urged increased investment in strategic actions such as scalable testing, viral-load monitoring, and integrating prevention innovations to close the gap by 2030.

(With inputs from agencies.)