Achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 3: challenges in HIV testing in the Eastern Mediterranean Region.

In the era prior to antiretroviral therapy (ART), taking an HIV test was associated with great fear, as a diagnosis of HIV infection signaled imminent death (1). As we mark World AIDS Day on 1 December 2017, it is worth reflecting on the success over the last two decades whereby treatment for HIV infection has become safer, more effective and simpler as new regimens with fixed combinations of antiretroviral drugs have become available (ARV). The use of ARVs has equally revolutionized HIV prevention beyond condom use, syringe exchange and screening of transfusion blood and transplant organs. ART suppresses viral replication, reduces viral load and thus minimizes the possibility of HIV transmission (1). Furthermore, pre and post-exposure prophylaxis with ARVs have proven efficacy in preventing infection of individuals exposed to HIV. Similarly, the advent of highly sensitive and specific rapid diagnostic tests and self-tests has improved access to quality testing services, and made it possible to return test results on the spot. Those scientific advances have put HIV testing and early diagnosis of HIV infection in a central position within the continuum of prevention, care and treatment. The global response to HIV has translated those advances into largescale implementation of prevention, diagnosis, care and treatment services. As a result, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) announced in 2015 that the world has