Joint Review Meeting Assesses Ethiopia’s HIV Program Performance

From February 26–28, 2025, key stakeholders convened in Adama town for the 2017 EFY Six-Month Joint Performance Review Meeting of the National HIV/AIDS Response. This crucial forum brought together representatives from House of People Rperesenative, Ministry of Health, Regional Health Bureaus, civil society organizations, implementing partners, and development partners to assess progress, address challenges, and define the way forward in Ethiopia’s fight against HIV/AIDS.

Key topics included an overview of the national HIV epidemiology, performance against the 95-95-95 targets, and an analysis of regional variations in HIV service delivery. The meeting also highlighted resource mobilization efforts, supply chain management improvements, and innovative prevention strategies such as PrEP and targeted interventions for key populations.

Program Performance and Achievements

The review highlighted notable progress in Ethiopia’s HIV response, particularly in expanding testing and treatment services. As of 2023:

• First 95 target (HIV diagnosis): Six regions exceeded the national average, with Addis Ababa reaching 98%, while some regions, such as Somali (48%), lagged behind.
• Second 95 target (ART coverage): Four regions surpassed the national average, while others faced challenges in linking diagnosed individuals to treatment.
• Third 95 target (Viral load suppression): The national suppression rate stood at 96%, whereas all regions performer greater than or equal to the national average. While the national average viral load testing coverage was 75%, there was variation among regions.
• Prevention efforts: More than 183,000 key populations and 2.8 million in-school and out-of-school youth were reached with HIV prevention interventions, including PrEP, condom distribution, and voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC).
• Service integration: Efforts were made to integrate HIV services with other health programs, such as PMTCT, STI screening, and non-communicable disease (NCD) care, but challenges remained in data accuracy and reporting.

Despite these achievements, the meeting identified persistent challenges, including supply interruptions of essential commodities (e.g., EID and viral load reagents), risk of program sustainability due to the stop of work order by USAID, low fund absorption rates, and gaps in case-finding among children and key populations.

The CCM Secretariat actively participated in the discussions, reinforcing its commitment to ensuring the effective implementation of Global Fund-supported programs. Its engagement emphasized the importance of strong coordination between stakeholders, improving grant absorption rates, and addressing sustainability concerns as Ethiopia transitions to the next grant cycle.

The meeting concluded with a set of actionable recommendations to strengthen Ethiopia’s HIV response, enhance data-driven decision-making, and sustain progress toward epidemic control.