In an ambitious effort to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030, as set out by the Sustainable Development Goals, the United Nations has adopted a strategy that focuses on fast-tracking ending the disease among children, adolescents, and young women by 2020 through increased access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support services.

Under the framework, “Start Free, Stay Free, AIDS Free,” this three-tier initiative led by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS and the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief met during the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa, or ICASA, earlier this month to share global progress updates and hear from those impacted by the programming provided.

The current five-year agenda follows on the heels of 2011’s Global Plan, whose purpose was to move towards eliminating new HIV infections among children by 2015 and keeping their mothers alive. In doing so, two global targets were emphasized: Reducing the number of new childhood HIV infections by 90 percent and halving the number of HIV-related maternal deaths. While the Global Plan showed relative gains by reducing new HIV infections among children by 60 percent in 21 of the most affected countries in sub-Saharan Africa, it missed the overall targets, demonstrating the difficulty in reducing the prevalence of HIV among Africa’s youth.

Alongside certain 2020 targets are 2018 benchmarks to ensure the accelerated reduction of new infections in children aged 0 to 14 to less than 40,000 by the end of next year, along with an increased adoption of antiretroviral therapy of 1.6 million children up to age 14, and 1.2 million adolescents between 15 and 19 years old by then as well.

Read the full article about AIDS treatment and prevention by Christin Roby at Devex International Development.