Antiretroviral Therapy has Saved Millions of Lives from AIDS

Over the 1980s and 1990s, the rise in HIV/AIDS deaths seemed unstoppable. Several effective antiretroviral drugs had been developed, but people with HIV still died from the disease because the virus would evolve to evade each drug.

Thankfully, scientists discovered that a combination of drugs could create a significant barrier to HIV’s evolution. This new treatment, highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), was first introduced in 1995 in the United States.

Data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows the massive impact of HAART in the chart. HIV/AIDS mortality dropped steeply after it was introduced. It profoundly improved the survival of people with HIV and reduced their risk of passing it on to others.