In an era of limited resources, HIV prevention, care and treatment efforts need to focus on the smartest investments. This means investing in programs that can have the greatest impact in halting HIV transmission and turning back the epidemic. From a public health perspective, the effective use of resources requires focusing on key populations who have the highest level of HIV infection and tackling the barriers that discourage and prevent them from accessing health systems and services. These populations are broadly defined as sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender persons and persons who inject drugs.
As the world gathers at the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia, July 20–25, 2014, we have an excellent opportunity to share how investing in evidence-based strategies can change the trajectory of the epidemic once and for all.