The old saying “What gets measured gets done” may be a cliché, but is still very true for the response to HIV. Over the years, a detailed understanding of the HIV epidemic has emerged through the collection, analysis and dissemination of data, helping programmes to reach the right people in the right place and at the right time. Having high-quality data on the AIDS response has enabled ambitious, measurable and time-bound targets to be set for tracking progress and ensuring accountability.

The indicators and questions in this document are designed for use by national AIDS programmes and partners to assess the state of a country’s HIV and AIDS response, and to measure progress towards achieving national HIV targets. Countries are encouraged to integrate these indicators and questions into their ongoing monitoring efforts and to report comprehensive national data through the Global AIDS Monitoring (GAM) process. In this way they will contribute to improving understanding of the global response to the HIV epidemic, including progress that has been made towards achieving the commitments and global targets set out in the new United Nations Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: Ending Inequalities and Getting on Track to End AIDS by 2030, adopted in June 2021, and the linked Sustainable Development Goals.

In this report, UNAIDS is announcing that 18.2 million people now have access to HIV treatment. The Fast-Track response is working. Increasing treatment coverage is reducing AIDS-related deaths among adults and children. But the life-cycle approach has to include more than just treatment. Tuberculosis (TB) remains among the commonest causes of illness and death among people living with HIV of all ages, causing about one third of AIDS-related deaths in 2015. These deaths could and should have been prevented. Download slide deck

Based on privacy, confidentiality and security principles an Assessment Tool was developed to assess in country the extent that the confidentiality and security of personal health information is protected at facility and data warehouse/repository levels and whether national guidelines exist including privacy laws. A Manual on the use of the Assessment Tool has been produced and is available below. 

Download the User’s Manual for the paper-based version

Download the electronic Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment Manual and  Tool

Download the paper-based Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment Tool

With scaling-up of HIV and other health services in low- and middle-income countries, an increasing amount of personally identifiable health information is being collected at health facilities and stored in data repositories at local, regional and national levels. Countries need to protect the confidentiality and security of identifiable and de-identified personal health information, and this can be accomplished in part through the existence and implementation of relevant privacy laws, policies and programmes.

Based on these requirements a paper-based and electronic Assessment Tool have been developed to assess the existence and implementation of national country laws, policies and programmes on protecting the confidentiality and security of personal health information collected and held at the facility, data warehouse and national policy levels. The UNAIDS/PEPFAR Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment Tool provides guidance for countries to facilitate, where required, the assessment of the security of the collection, storage and use of data in order to maintain privacy, confidentiality and security.

Provided below are instructions on how to download and set up the paper-based and electronic Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment tool.  

Download the paper-based Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment Tool

Download the electronic Privacy, Confidentiality and Security Assessment Manual and  Tool

Download the User’s Manual for the paper-based version

This programming guidance is meant to inform programmes that aim to reduce HIV infection among adolescent girls and young women in countries and locations where HIV incidence is high among adolescent girls and young women and where HIV is primarily spread through heterosexual transmission. This report primarily is for policymakers, planners and implementers of HIV prevention programmes across multiple sectors, including organizations led by young people. The document also is useful for experts in wider health and social sector programmes, including health workers and teaching staff, or any other professionals who can integrate dimensions of HIV prevention into their area of work.

Language influences the way we think, how we perceive reality, and how we behave. With respect to HIV, language can embody stigma and discrimination, which impacts access to testing, acquisition of HIV, and engagement with treatment. Language plays a role in supporting respect and empowerment of individuals, as communities shape how they are referred to and the labels they wish to use. Consideration and use of appropriate language can strengthen the global response to the HIV pandemic by diminishing stigma and discrimination and increasing support and understanding for individuals and communities living with HIV. Comments and suggestions for modifications should be sent to editorialboard@unaids.org

The existence of national health identifiers (NHIDs) ensures that each patient has one unique identity within the health system. This facilitates the development of longitudinal medical records and allows users of services to be tracked across health-care sectors.