In 2021, an estimated 1.9 million people are living with HIV in the Western Pacific Region. Every day, approximately 329 people are newly infected and 115 people die due to HIV.

Since 1990, the number of people in the Western Pacific Region who receive treatment for HIV with antiretroviral therapy (ART) has steadily grown. Effective ART prevents HIV transmission from mother to child during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. Someone who is on ART and virally suppressed will not pass HIV to their sexual partners.

In 2021, an estimated 1.5 million people living with HIV in the Western Pacific Region were receiving ART. However, concerted effort is needed to reach those who have been left behind, in particular key populations of men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, trans and gender diverse people and people in prisons in order to close the treatment gap and ensure universal access to essential health services.