Public health fact series

HIV treatment is also HIV prevention

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has changed HIV care significantly. Effective treatment can suppress HIV, protect the immune system, and help people living with HIV live long and healthy lives. WHO recommends ART for everyone diagnosed with HIV, and treatment should be started as soon as possible after diagnosis.

ART is also important for HIV prevention. When treatment reduces HIV to an undetectable level and viral suppression is maintained, a person living with HIV will not transmit HIV to their sexual partner(s). This is the message behind U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable).

This message is supported by strong evidence. In the randomized HPTN 052 trial, early ART reduced genetically linked sexual HIV transmission by 93% compared with delayed treatment. Later, the PARTNER2 study reported zero linked transmissions during more than 76,000 acts of condomless sex when the partner living with HIV had a suppressed viral load.

However, effective HIV care is not only about medicines. Regular follow-up, viral-load monitoring, and continued access to treatment are also important. The environment around care matters too. WHO continues to highlight HIV-related stigma and discrimination as barriers to quality health care, while a 2024 systematic review also found that HIV-related stigma was linked with poorer access to care, mental health, and wellbeing.

Better understanding of HIV treatment can support individual health, strengthen HIV prevention, and help reduce stigma through evidence.

HIV treatment is also HIV prevention

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