HIV in Europe and central Asia in the era of the SDGs. Operationalizing goals and achieving targets. ECDC/WHO joint meeting report (2018)

The ECDC/WHO joint meeting “HIV in Europe and central Asia in the era of the SDGs: Operationalizing goals and achieving targets” reviewed national and regional progress towards achieving the regional goals and targets that need to be met in order to end AIDS by 2030, and the challenges that have been encountered in doing so. It assessed how data are used to inform HIV prevention and control efforts at national and regional levels and provided a platform for countries to share their experiences of successful interventions on HIV prevention, testing and treatment.

The meeting brought together national HIV programme managers, HIV surveillance experts and a wide range of partners for two-and-a-half days to discuss experiences and ways forward related to: the Fast-Track Cities initiative, HIV prevention (particularly pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and harm reduction), HIV testing, surveillance and estimates, and treatment measurement and implementation issues.

In addition to the main plenary and parallel sessions, two “European cafés” provided opportunities for smaller groups of people with interest in specific topics to learn more about them and to discuss them in greater depth.

Much joint work will continue going forward, and 2018 provides many opportunities for countries and organizations to continue sharing experiences and learning from each other.

The 22nd International AIDS Conference which will be hosted in Amsterdam, from 22 to 27 July 2018, provides a special opportunity for the WHO European Region, especially for the countries in eastern Europe and central Asia (EECA) for whom a Ministerial Policy Dialogue on HIV and related comorbidities is being organized on 23 July 2018 by WHO, the Government of the Netherlands and UNAIDS.