Summary：**Armenia hopeful at UN, vows to end AIDS by 2030***Introduction* At the recent United Nations Gene

**Armenia hopeful at UN, vows to end AIDS by 2030**

*Introduction*
At the recent United Nations General Assembly session in New York, Armenia’s health minister took the podium with a clear pledge: the country aims to eliminate AIDS as a public‑health threat by 2030. The announcement came amid a broader push by member states to revitalize the global HIV response, which has stalled in several regions despite decades of progress. Armenia’s commitment, framed within the Sustainable Development Goals agenda, signals both optimism and a recognition of the work still ahead.

*Key Developments*
During the debate, Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan highlighted three concrete steps the government will take over the next seven years. First, Armenia will expand rapid‑testing sites in rural clinics, aiming to increase early diagnosis from the current 68 % to over 90 % of estimated HIV‑positive individuals. Second, the Ministry plans to integrate antiretroviral therapy (ART) distribution into the national primary‑care network, reducing reliance on centralized hospitals and cutting patient travel time by half. Third, a nationwide awareness campaign targeting youth and migrant workers will launch in early 2025, leveraging social media influencers and community leaders to combat stigma. The minister also noted that Armenia has already secured a $12 million grant from the Global Fund to support these initiatives, with additional domestic budget allocations earmarked for 2024‑2025.

*Industry Analysis*
Health experts caution that achieving the 2030 target hinges on more than infrastructure upgrades. Epidemiological models from the World Health Organization show that Armenia’s HIV prevalence, while low at 0.2 % of adults, is concentrated among key populations—people who inject drugs, men who have sex with men, and transgender individuals. Effective outreach to these groups requires tailored harm‑reduction services, including needle‑syringe programs and pre‑exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), which remain limited in the country. Moreover, sustaining political commitment beyond electoral cycles will be essential; analysts point