31 May 2017 - Only 1.8 million people of the 6.5 million people living with HIV in western and central Africa were on antiretroviral therapy at the end of 2015. This 28% treatment coverage of people living with HIV in the region contrasts with the 54% coverage in eastern and southern Africa in the same year.

In response to this HIV treatment shortfall in western and central Africa, UNAIDS, the World Health Organization (WHO) and other partners in the region have developed country emergency catch-up plans to accelerate the AIDS response. These plans call for tripling HIV treatment coverage within the next three years.

At a meeting on the sidelines of the 70th World Health Assembly to support the catch-up plan, health ministers and other representatives of countries in the region vowed to strengthen government leadership, make structural changes in their health systems and strengthen accountability.