In 2021, the member states of the United Nations committed to ensuring that HIV and AIDS would no longer pose a public health threat by 2030. This means: From 2030 onwards, there should be no new HIV transmissions. To this end, clearly defined interim targets have been set for 2025. These so-called 95-95-95 targets from UNAIDS stipulate that by 2025, 95 per cent of all people living with HIV will know their status, 95 per cent of those diagnosed will receive antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95 per cent of these people will have a viral load below the detection limit.

The current HIV cascade shows that Switzerland has not yet achieved this target by the end of 2024. According to the FOPH, 93 per cent of all people living with HIV in Switzerland know their status, 98 per cent of those diagnosed are receiving treatment, and the virus is suppressed in 96 per cent of cases. This means that the first stage of the cascade falls short of the international target.

“ These figures are impressive, but they also show that we have not yet reached the 95 per cent target. Today, around seven per cent of people living with HIV do not know they are living with HIV – and in our view, this is still a conservative estimate. Without decisive investment, the target of zero new transmissions by 2030 will not be met,” warns Andreas Lehner, Executive Director of the Swiss AIDS Federation. “Every undiagnosed infection poses a risk of further transmission. We know how HIV transmission can be prevented – but we as a society must also be willing to do so.”

Whilst medical care in Switzerland is of a high standard, cost-cutting is increasingly taking place in the area of prevention. The FOPH has cut funding for national STI prevention work, including, in particular, the successful ‘Love Life’ campaign. At the same time, Parliament has scrapped Switzerland’s contributions to UNAIDS – a decision that sends out the wrong signal. “In a globally interconnected world, national cuts are not an isolated decision,” Lehner continued. “People travel, migrate and live in relationships that span borders. If cuts are made to HIV prevention worldwide, this also jeopardises the progress made in Switzerland. Prevention does not stop at the national border.’ It is now up to the national Parliament and, above all, the cantons to significantly increase funding for prevention.

The latest FOPH report also shows that several sexually transmitted infections are stagnating or continuing to rise. The number of gonorrhoea cases rose by 11.6 per cent to 6,805 in 2024. Syphilis cases remained at a high level of 1,042, as did chlamydia, with 12,793 cases. The number of new HIV diagnoses fell slightly to 318 cases (2023: 357 cases). This trend makes it clear that: testing services and prevention work must be strengthened and given secure funding in order to reverse the trend of stagnation or even growth.

“We know that prevention works,” Lehner concluded. “But it only works if it is accessible to everyone – regardless of income. Those who cut back today will pay double tomorrow: both in human and financial terms.”