Global HIV Programme
The WHO Department of Global HIV, Hepatitis and Sexually Transmitted Infections Programmes leads the development and implementation of the global health sector strategy on the elimination of HIV as a public health threat.
HIV drug resistance
Over the past decade, the world has witnessed an unprecedented increase in the use of antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has saved the lives of tens of millions of people living with HIV/AIDS. At the end of 2021, 28.7 million people, out of an estimated 38.4 million people living with HIV, were receiving ART globally.
Increased use of HIV medicines has been accompanied by the emergence of HIV drug resistance – the levels of which have steadily increased in recent years.
HIV drug resistance is caused by changes in the genetic structure of HIV that affect the ability of drugs to block the replication of the virus. All current antiretroviral drugs, including newer classes, are at risk of becoming partly or fully inactive due to the emergence of drug-resistant virus strains. If not prevented, HIV drug resistance can jeopardize the efficacy of antiretroviral drugs, resulting in increased numbers of HIV infections and HIV-associated morbidity and mortality.
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Supplement to the 2016 consolidated guidelines on the use of antiretroviral drugs for treating and preventing HIV infection: second edition June 2016
Reports
29 February 2024
HIV drug resistance – brief report 2024
This brief report summarizes recent information on HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in the era of integrase-strand transfer inhibitors (INSTI) for HIV...
24 November 2021
HIV drug resistance report 2021
HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) can compromise the effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in reducing HIV incidence and HIV-associated morbidity and...
1 July 2019
HIV drug resistance report 2019
The rise in antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the greatest threats to global health. If it is not urgently addressed, it may result in millions...
1 July 2017
HIV drug resistance report 2017
This second HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) report provides an update on recent population levels of HIVDR covering the period 2014–2016. The report...
With increasing global use of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to both treat and prevent HIV, and increasing global trends in HIV drug resistance (HIVDR),...
1 July 2012
HIV drug resistance report 2012
This report assesses the general levels of transmitted and acquired drug resistance in select geographical areas of low- and middle-income countries. It...
