A woman living with HIV is taking antiretroviral drugs. Half of all people living with HIV in Europe find out they are diagnosed too late Health
Europe is failing to detect and treat HIV early, with more than half (54 percent) of all diagnoses in 2024 occurring too late to provide optimal treatment. This is evidenced by new data published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Office of the World Health Organization ahead of World AIDS Day.
“A Serious Failure”
The study authors warn that a serious failure in testing, compounded by a growing number of undetected cases, significantly undermines the goal of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030.
According to the annual HIV/AIDS monitoring report, there were 105,922 cases of HIV infection in the WHO European Region, covering 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, in 2024. Although the total number of reported cases has decreased slightly since 2023, available data indicate that gaps in testing and diagnosis remain.
Late Diagnosis
The high proportion of late diagnoses means that many people do not receive life-saving antiretroviral therapy and medical care in a timely manner. This increases the risk of developing AIDS, the risk of death and onward transmission of HIV.
Across the 30 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), 24,164 cases of HIV have been reported, representing a rate of 5.3 per 100,000 people. Key findings from the 2024 data show that 48 percent of diagnoses in these countries are made late.
Sex between men remains the most common route of HIV transmission in the EU/EEA (48 percent), but cases involving heterosexual transmission are rising, accounting for almost 46 percent of all diagnoses.
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Vulnerable groups
In the WHO European Region, 54 percent of diagnoses were made late. The largest proportion of late detections is observed among people infected through heterosexual contact (especially men) and people who inject drugs. In EU/EEA countries, migrants accounted for more than half of new cases, highlighting the need for accessible, targeted and culturally adapted preventive and diagnostic services.
“The Hidden Crisis”
WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said the findings “paint a mixed picture.” HIV testing in the region has rebounded since 2020, leading to an increase in diagnoses in 11 countries in 2024, he said. In 2024 alone, 105,922 people were diagnosed with HIV, and a total of 2.68 million cases have been reported since the 1980s. “But the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is growing – a hidden crisis that is fueling the spread of infection,” he added. “We are not doing enough to remove the deadly barriers of stigma and discrimination that prevent people from getting a simple test,” Dr Kluge said. “Early diagnosis is not a privilege, but a path to a long and healthy life and the key to the fight against HIV.”
A Call to Action
The study authors call for urgent action to expand and implement testing, including greater access to self-testing and community-based options that can reach people who do not access health services.
The goal of ending the AIDS epidemic as a public health threat by 2030 remains achievable, but only if the European Region takes action now to close the testing gap, they say experts from WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
World AIDS Day
The theme of this year’s World AIDS Day is “From Challenge to Transformation in the HIV Response.” In his message for the Day, the UN Secretary-General recalls the progress made in recent decades, but warns that for many people around the world, the crisis continues, with cuts in resources and services threatening “people’s lives and hard-won gains.”
António Guterres says fighting AIDS means empowering communities, investing in prevention and expanding access to treatment for all people. Every stage of this work, the UN chief is convinced, must be based on human rights, so that no one is left behind. “We have the power to eradicate AIDS as a public health threat by 2030,” Guterres said, calling for “to see this through.”