A new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that the global epidemics of HIV, viral hepatitis, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to pose significant public health challenges, causing 2.5 million deaths annually. The report, titled *Implementing the Global Health Sector Strategies on HIV, Viral Hepatitis, and Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2022–2030*, presents troubling data showing increases in STIs across many regions, threatening the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

STIs are on the rise, with syphilis cases among adults aged 15-49 increasing by over 1 million in 2022, reaching 8 million. This increase is most notable in the Americas and African regions. The report underscores the urgent need for action as WHO Member States had set an ambitious target in 2022 to reduce adult syphilis infections from 7.1 million to 0.71 million by 2030.

“The rising incidence of syphilis raises major concerns,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Fortunately, there has been important progress in accelerating access to critical health commodities, including diagnostics and treatment. We have the tools required to end these epidemics as public health threats by 2030, but we now need to ensure that countries do all they can to achieve the ambitious targets they set themselves.”

The report highlights that four curable STIs—syphilis, gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis—account for over 1 million infections daily. The COVID-19 pandemic saw a surge in adult and maternal syphilis, with 1.1 million cases and associated congenital syphilis at 523 cases per 100,000 live births per year. In 2022, syphilis-related deaths numbered 230,000.

New data also indicates an increase in multi-resistant gonorrhea. As of 2023, nine out of 87 countries reported elevated resistance to ceftriaxone, the last line of treatment for gonorrhea. In response, WHO has updated its treatment recommendations to combat this multi-resistant strain.

The report also sheds light on viral hepatitis, with 1.2 million new hepatitis B cases and nearly 1 million new hepatitis C cases recorded in 2022. Despite effective prevention, diagnosis, and treatment tools, deaths from viral hepatitis rose from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022.

HIV remains a significant concern, with new infections only decreasing slightly from 1.5 million in 2020 to 1.3 million in 2022. Key populations—men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, sex workers, transgender individuals, and those in prisons—experience significantly higher HIV prevalence rates. In 2022, there were 630,000 HIV-related deaths, with 13% occurring in children under 15.

Despite these challenges, there have been gains in expanding access to STI, HIV, and hepatitis services. WHO has validated 19 countries for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV and/or syphilis, and Botswana and Namibia are on the path to eliminating HIV. Global HIV treatment coverage has reached 76%, with 93% of those receiving treatment achieving suppressed viral loads. Efforts to increase HPV vaccination and screening for women with HIV are ongoing, and there have been slight improvements in the diagnosis and treatment coverage for hepatitis B and C.

The WHO report outlines several recommendations for countries to strengthen their approaches towards achieving global health targets. These include developing cross-cutting investment cases and national sustainability plans, aligning disease-specific guidance within a primary health care approach, addressing criminalization and discrimination in health settings, expanding multi-disease elimination approaches, and focusing on primary prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

While the targets set for 2025 and 2030 are driving progress, the report emphasizes that more political will and commitment are urgently needed to accelerate efforts and achieve global health goals.