Malawi's latest National Strategic Plan for HIV and AIDS (2015-2020) aims to meet the ambitious 90-90-90 Treatment Targets released by UNAIDS in 2014, preparing to control the HIV epidemic by 2030.

By the end of 2020, Malawi will have:

• Diagnosed 90% of all people living with HIV (PLHIV)
• Started and retained 90% of those diagnosed on ART
• Achieved viral suppression for 90% of patients on ART

Reaching these 90-90-90 targets in 2020 will result in 760,000 (73%) of the projected 1,042,000 PLHIV being virally suppressed, leading to a dramatic reduction in sexual and vertical transmission at the population level.

Early Antiretroviral treatment (ART) is the most powerful intervention available to prevent HIV morbidity and mortality, particularly in the context of Malawi's health services with limited capacity to diagnose and manage HIV-related diseases. There is overwhelming evidence, including from Malawi, that early ART reduces the risk of TB and AIDS-defining illnesses.

Malawi's rapid and successful ART scale-up from 2004 to 2014 has critically influenced the HIV epidemic, reducing mortality, morbidity, and transmission.

In the one decade since starting the national treatment program:

• 275,000 deaths have been averted
• 1 out of every 20 Malawi adults is now on ART