In 2014 the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) established 90-90-90 treatment targets for the treatment of HIV. These goals include 90 percent of people with HIV will know their status; 90 percent will receive appropriate treatment; and 90 percent will suppress the virus. Steven Forsythe of Avenir Health and coauthors evaluated data used by UNAIDS to calculate that in the period 1995-2015, antiretroviral therapy (ART) averted 9.5 million deaths worldwide, with global economic benefits of $1.05 trillion. The authors also found that for every $1 spent on ART, $3.50 in benefits was realized globally. Including future projections, the authors estimated that in 1995-2030, approximately 40.2 million new HIV infections could be averted (more than twice as many deaths as occurred during World War I), with economic gains reaching $4.02 trillion in 2030. With different countries achieving different results for the different targets, the authors recommend analyses of national treatment program performance to enhance overall benefits and efficiency.
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Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewed journal at the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking content is also found through healthaffairs.org , Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
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