Detectability of HIV in the early stages has increased and we have set a new benchmark. Anahit Avanesyan

Armenia has the opportunity to become the first country in the region to eliminate HIV/AIDS as a public health threat. Eamon Murphy, director of the United Nations HIV/AIDS Joint Program for Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, stated this at the meeting with the Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan. "In recent years, thanks to the joint program, new approaches to HIV prevention, access to preventive and test interventions, decentralization of services, the detectability of HIV in the early stages has increased, and we have set a new benchmark," the minister noted. According to him, Armenia pays special attention to the creation of a reliable and stable system of combating HIV within the framework of primary health care and other reforms. "My experience and your country's indicators inspire optimism that as a result of effective application of program components, decentralization of community-based services, Armenia can become the first country in the region to reach the elimination target," said Eamonn Murphy. It was also important to educate the population about the effectiveness of antiretroviral treatment used in case of early detection of HIV, which allows to prevent transmission of the virus to a healthy person. At the meeting, the upcoming measures aimed at preventing the spread of HIV, as well as the support provided to forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh, were discussed.