Linkage to ART
Export Indicator
This indicator measures the extent of linkage to care and initiation of treatment following HIV-positive diagnoses.
- In the era of "TreatAll", all people diagnosed as living with HIV should be rapidly initiated on treatment to optimize treatment outcomes and prevent new infections.
- Disaggregated reporting by time since diagnosis (for example, 28 or 90 days) provides an indication of the quality of care with respect to national guidelines on when treatment should be started.
Number of people newly diagnosed with HIV and started ART during the reporting period
Number of people newly diagnosed with HIV during the reporting period
For the numerator and denominator. Programme records (for example, HTS register, ART register)
Data systems that collect individual-level data and use a universal indicator code can easily calculate the numerator for this indicator. In the absence of a cohort system of tracking, countries with aggregate reporting need data collection forms that categorize those who initiate ART by the timing of their diagnosis. This can result in some mismatch between numerator and denominator, as some who are diagnosed with HIV toward the end of the reporting period (and so counted in the denominator) may initiate ART after the reporting period (and so not counted in the numerator). This should be considered in the interpretation of the indicator.
The recommended reporting period is 12 months.
- Gender (male, female, transgender)
- Age (0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50+)
- Key populations (men who have sex with men, people living in prisons and other closed settings, people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender people)
- TB status (presumptive TB, diagnosed TB, none)
- Time to start ART (within 14, 30 or 90 days of diagnosis, as per country guidelines).
WHO Strategic Information Guidelines, 2020 (https://indicatorregistry.unaids.org/sites/default/files/9789240000735-eng.pdf)