Stigma reduction is key to improving the HIV care continuum.

Abstract

Global targets toward ending the HIV epidemic were missed in 2020, and key populations such as transgender women and men who have sex with men (MSM), were often the ones left behind.1 Data are mounting on the substantial HIV inequities faced specifically by key populations in southern Africa. However, few of these studies have disaggregated the data for transgender women from that of MSM, 2 and none have explicitly included genderqueer individuals. Although UNAIDS emphasises the importance of reaching key populations, including MSM and transgender women, to achieve the 90–90–90 goals (ie, 90% of people with HIV being aware of their status, 90% of status-aware people with HIV on antiretroviral treatment [ART], and 90% of people on ART with a suppressed viral load), the data on progress towards these goal among MSM or transgender women and genderqueer individuals are quite scarce.