Younger, mobile men especially likely to not know they have HIV in eastern and southern Africa

aidsmap news story

One in seven men living with HIV in eastern and southern Africa are unaware that they have the virus, according to research presented at CROI 2026. Younger men and those who sometimes live away from home were more likely not to know their status.

According to UNAIDS data, while 83% of adolescent girls and women on treatment in these regions had reached viral suppression in 2024, only 76% of adolescent boys and men aged 15 and older had. What’s more, in addition to starting off worse on the continuum, men also saw larger drop offs at each level, from testing to treatment to viral suppression. To reach UNAIDS 95:95:95 targets – HIV awareness, on treatment, virally suppressed – it’s crucial to close these gaps.

Factors related to these gaps include age, mobility and sexual behaviours. However, researchers aimed to get a better understanding of the overlap between different groups and how belonging to overlapping subgroups affects HIV outcomes.

Researchers drew on data from nationally representative surveys across seven countries: Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe. In addition to survey items, rapid HIV testing was also done, along with blood testing for antiretroviral therapy medications and viral load.

Read the full news story here.View all aidsmap reports from CROI 2026