Europe is failing to catch HIV in time for effective treatment, with more than half (54%) of diagnoses in 2024 coming too late, new data show.  

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the WHO Regional Office for Europe warn that this testing shortfall, coupled with a growing number of undiagnosed cases, puts the 2030 goal of ending AIDS as a public health threat at serious risk. 

According to the 2024 HIV/AIDS surveillance report, 105,922 people were diagnosed with HIV across the WHO European Region, covering 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia. While overall numbers slightly declined from 2023, late diagnoses remain alarmingly high, meaning many people are missing the chance to start life-saving antiretroviral treatment early, increasing their risk of developing AIDS, dying, or transmitting HIV to others. 

In the EU and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), 24,164 HIV diagnoses were reported—a rate of 5.3 per 100,000 people. Nearly half (48%) of these were late diagnoses. Men who have sex with men remain the largest transmission group (48%), but heterosexual transmission is rising, accounting for nearly 46% of new cases. 

Dr Pamela Rendi-Wagner, ECDC Director, said: "In the EU/EEA, nearly half of all diagnoses are made late. We must urgently innovate our testing strategies, embrace community-based testing and self-testing, and ensure rapid linkage to care. We can only end AIDS if people know their status." 

Across the WHO European Region, late diagnoses were most common among heterosexual men and people who inject drugs. Migrants accounted for nearly one in three HIV diagnoses in 2024—and over half in the EU/EEA—underscoring the need for accessible, culturally sensitive prevention and testing services. 

Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, warned: "Our data paints a mixed picture. Since 2020, HIV testing across the European Region has rebounded, resulting in a higher volume of reported tests and a corresponding rise in HIV diagnoses in 11 countries in 2024. In 2024 alone, 105,922 people were diagnosed with HIV, with an overall 2.68 million diagnoses reported since 1980s."  

"However, the number of people living with undiagnosed HIV is growing, a silent crisis that’s fueling transmission. We are not doing enough to remove the deadly barriers of stigma and discrimination that prevent people from seeking out a simple test. An early diagnosis is not a privilege but a gateway to a long, healthy life and the key to stopping HIV in its tracks." 

ECDC and WHO/Europe are calling for urgent action to routinise, normalise, and scale up testing, including expanding self-testing and community-based options. Experts say the 2030 goal to end AIDS as a public health threat is within reach—but only if Europe closes its testing gap now.