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Full report and summary

East and Southern Africa is home to 50 per cent of all people living with HIV. According to UNAIDS, of the 28 countries experiencing 75 per cent of new infections, 15 are in ESA1. Preventing further infections in this region is, therefore, key to ending the global HIV and AIDS epidemic. While much has been done since 2010, current data show that the 2020 prevention targets will be missed, a situation exacerbated by the unprecedented public health crisis in the wake of the COVID-19  pandemic. It is therefore imperative that the reduction in sexually transmitted HIV infections be fast-tracked if countries in the region are to achieve the overarching global HIV targets agreed for 2030. In support of UNAIDS, the lead UN agency on the prevention of HIV/AIDS, UNFPA has drawn up a framework to guide HIV prevention for the next 10 years in the region.

This Framework was developed in 2019/2020 by UNFPA ESARO following a broad participatory process that takes into account  trends in new infections, the current state of the epidemic, programmatic responses to date, and sustainable methods of preventing and monitoring the sexual transmission of HIV. It sets out the priority commitments and actions to be taken by UNFPA offices to help countries in East and Southern Africa scale up the five HIV global prevention pillars.