The EU and European Economic Area are not on course to meet several 2030 targets aimed at ending HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections.
More than 59,000 people die each year in the EU/EEA from these infections combined, and “millions” are living with, or affected by, illnesses described as preventable, according to a new report from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) released on Thursday.
Deaths linked to HIV and tuberculosis have fallen, but neither decline is happening fast enough to meet the targets.
Hepatitis B and C account for about 90% of the annual deaths and show no sign of a downward trend.
“Europe has the tools to end HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, and other sexually transmitted infections, but they are not reaching everyone who needs them,” said Bruno Ciancio, Head of Unit for Directly Transmitted and Vaccine-Preventable Diseases at the ECDC.
STI diagnoses rise sharply
New figures show sexually transmitted infections (STIs) — infections typically passed on through sexual contact — have risen steeply across the region.
Syphilis diagnoses doubled and gonorrhoea rates more than tripled over the past decade, according to ECDC surveillance data.
Cases of syphilis in newborns, known as congenital syphilis, rose by almost 80% between 2023 and 2024.
On tuberculosis, many countries have reached the 85% target for detection, but treatment success remains below the 90% goal, with 64% of patients successfully treated.
The agency said progress is harder to measure in some areas because data are unavailable or insufficient, particularly for STIs and hepatitis.
