SEARCH intervention puts UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals within reach

In a new JAMA articlethe SEARCH trial, conducted in collaboration with FACES, proves that the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals can be surpassed both quickly and in low-resource areas.

In just two years, rates of viral suppression, HIV diagnosis and HIV treatment improved dramatically among the trial’s 77,774 participants, all of whom live in rural Kenya and Uganda. Viral suppression among individuals living with HIV increased from 45 percent to 80 percent. Ninety-six percent of HIV-positive individuals had been diagnosed, and 93 percent of diagnosed individuals had received antiretroviral treatment.

Through the use of community-based and mobile strategies, the SEARCH intervention delivers HIV testing and treatment services to many people typically considered too hard to reach, whether due to physical or cultural barriers. FACES is now working to scale-up these interventions in more areas of Kenya to help end the HIV epidemic.

Read UCSF’s coverage of this study.