Towards control of the global HIV epidemic: Addressing the middle-90 challenge in the UNAIDS 90–90–90 target

In 2016, just over 2 million people worldwide acquired HIV infection, mostly via heterosexual transmission and mostly in sub-Saharan Africa [1]. Antiretroviral treatment (ART) aims to suppress viral load to very low, or undetectable, levels, delaying HIV disease progression [2,3] and reducing the risk of onward transmission Following the 2015 WHO guidelines recommending ART for all HIV-positive people regardless of CD4 count, WHO and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) issued the 90-90-90 target, aiming by 2020 to have 90% of infected people knowing their HIV status, 90% of HIV-positive people initiated on ART, and 90% of people treated with ART virally suppressed [5], so as to achieve containment of the HIV epidemic.