1996-2007: Advancement

Before 1996, an HIV diagnosis left people with few options with no known cure or effective treatment. The introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) was a major breakthrough and gave hope to millions of people living with HIV around the world. Those who had access to HAART saw their life expectancy increase by an average of 15 years – unheard of at the time.

Throughout this period, a number of scientific advancements continued to dramatically improve the lives of people living with HIV and of the communities most affected by the epidemic. Beyond HAART, other treatment advances and the development of viral load monitoring and rapid tests for HIV transformed diagnosis and treatment.