World AIDS Day: New HIV diagnoses in Catalonia fall to 487 in 2024

December 1 marks World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness, promoting action on HIV, and remembering those who have lost their lives to the virus.

On Monday, Catalan institutions and organizations urged unity against AIDS-related stigma and called for continuing progress to eliminate HIV as a public health threat, especially in the face of rising far-right movements.

Health Minister Olga Pané warned of "political polarization that seeks to destroy public policies," while the December 1st Committee – a coalition of HIV-focused groups in Catalonia – urged a collective stance against the "reactionary wave."

Catalonia's World AIDS Day institutional event also highlighted ongoing challenges, including cutting waiting times for the HIV-preventive pill PrEP.

As in previous years, the event featured the World AIDS Day Memorial Tapestry on the façades of the Palau de la Generalitat and Barcelona City Hall, commemorating those who died of AIDS in the 1990s.

A giant red ribbon was also displayed in Plaça de Sant Jaume.

Fall in new HIV infections

Catalonia saw a slight drop in newly reported HIV infections in 2024, according to the Epidemiological Studies Centre on STIs and AIDS (CEEISCAT).

A total of 487 new diagnoses were recorded last year – 6.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants – down from 525 in 2023.

Of the new cases, 82.1% were men (400 diagnoses), with an incidence rate of 10 cases per 100,000, compared with 2.1 cases per 100,000 among women.

The average age at diagnosis was 39.

An estimated 36,524 people are living with HIV in Catalonia, and 5.8% are thought to be unaware of their status.

Steady decline

The number of new HIV diagnoses has been steadily declining in Catalonia, falling from 12.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2010 to 6.1 in 2024 – an average annual drop of 4.4%.

Officials attribute this trend to wider access to treatment, which became universal in 2015, along with growing use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and a broad range of public health measures introduced in recent years.

Sexual transmission continued to be the main route of infection, accounting for 98% of cases with available information in 2024.

Of these, 53.6% were among men who have sex with men, while 44.5% occurred among heterosexual men and women.

Although men accounted for most cases, the incidence rate among men fell 13.8% compared with the previous year. Among women, the rate rose from 1.7 cases per 100,000 in 2023 to 2.1 in 2024.

The age group with the highest number of diagnoses was 30 to 39, representing 32.7% of all cases.

People aged 40 or older accounted for 43.2% of cases, while 15.6% were under 25.

More than 13,000 people receiving PrEP

One of the most effective HIV prevention strategies is PrEP, which is offered through 21 healthcare centres in Catalonia and currently benefits more than 13,000 people – 39% of all PrEP users in Spain.

This preventative treatment is considered a highly effective public health tool for people at high risk of infection.

The Catalan health department has said that it is currently reworking its strategy to ensure access "for everyone who needs it."

Towards 95-95-95

Catalonia has surpassed the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets for 2020: that 90% of people living with HIV know their status, 90% of those receive treatment and 90% of those achieve an undetectable viral load.

Catalonia has now reached 94-93-96, meaning 94% of people with HIV know their status, 93% of those are in treatment and 96% of those have undetectable viral loads. UNAIDS' new target is 95-95-95 by 2030.

Work is also ongoing to ensure that people living with HIV have a good quality of life.

To tackle stigma and discrimination, the health and equality departments and the December 1st Committee are promoting the Social Pact Against Discrimination of People with HIV.

The pact provides a framework for addressing rights violations, changing societal perceptions of HIV, combating serophobia, and ensuring equal access to services, benefits, and employment.

Globally, an estimated 40.8 million people are living with HIV, and 1.3 million new diagnoses were recorded in 2024, according to the latest UNAIDS report. In Spain, 3,340 new cases were reported last year, and more than 150,000 people are estimated to be living with HIV.