The Global HIV Treatment Gap: Existing people on ART versus people eligible under past and current WHO guidelines

This year WHO released eagerly anticipated comprehensive antiretroviral treatment (ART) guidelines addressing how to optimize ART for both treatment and prevention. The guidance recommends raising the CD4 threshold for treatment initiation to 500 CD4 cells or below -- with priority given to people who are symptomatic or have CD4 cell counts at or below 350. As this graphic from AVAC Report 2013 illustrates, this shift in guidelines will increase the gap between the number of people eligible for ART worldwide and those currently receiving it.