In The Lancet HIV, Steven K Grinspoon and colleagues1 examine the performance of cardiovascular risk estimators in people living with HIV, leveraging data from the Randomized Trial to Prevent Vascular Events in HIV (REPRIEVE).2 Grinspoon and colleagues1 compare the observed rate of major adverse cardiovascular events in the placebo group of REPRIEVE with the predicted rate of events according to baseline cardiovascular risk, calculated using the pooled cohort equations for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) and the data-collection on adverse effects of anti-HIV drugs (D:A:D) risk scores.

Following on the results of formal randomised clinical trials, real-world data can provide important insights into the safety and efficacy of a new drug regimen when it is used among a more diverse patient population and in a less controlled clinical setting. As Jongen and colleagues1 point out in The Lancet HIV, available real-world data for long-acting injectable cabotegravir and rilpivirine are largely limited to retrospective analyses with small sample sizes.1 The authors aim to address this issue using data from the well established ATHENA cohort, which includes comprehensive data for almost all people living with HIV receiving medical care in the Netherlands.

In its 2024 global AIDS report, The Urgency of Now: AIDS at a Crossroads, UNAIDS emphasised a clear path to ending AIDS worldwide. A crucial part of this goal involves sustained efforts by all countries—particularly those in heavily affected regions, such as southern and eastern Africa—to achieve the UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets by 2030. These targets aim for 95% of people living with HIV to be aware of their status, 95% of those aware of their status to be on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 95% of those on ART to reach viral suppression.