Antiretroviral therapy coverage among people living with HIV in key populations (A–E)

This indicator recognizes the importance of antiretroviral therapy for all populations and the need to achieve equity in access to antiretroviral therapy. It is increasingly asked in both household (general population) and biobehavioural surveys. Some but not all treatment programmes collect data on risk behaviour and modes of transmission. Data on treatment coverage and progress towards the second “95” of the 95–95–95 targets for key populations individually provide information to advocate for equity for treatment access for all key and vulnerable populations and communities.

It remains unclear how many people will respond accurately to this question in a survey. Additional analysis and research are required to assess the validity of the responses and to improve the elicitation of valid responses in the future.

Surveying key populations can be challenging. Consequently, the data obtained may not be based on a representative national sample of the key populations at higher risk being surveyed. If there are concerns that the data are not based on a representative sample, the interpretation of the survey data should reflect these concerns. If there are different sources of data, the best available estimate should be used.

BBS-Lite is less technically demanding and may be undertaken with fewer resources than larger-scale, more comprehensive biobehavioural surveys. It can also be repeated more frequently and yield results more rapidly. The results supplement data from other sources. The BBS-Lite involves non-probability sampling methods, and therefore in many cases the results are most useful for understanding the local situation for programming purposes..