The treatment guaranteed by the public health system has helped reduce HIV infections by 16% across Brazil in the last four years. Additionally, the country recorded the largest drop in mortality in 2017, following the introduction of the so-called “AIDS cocktail” in 1995. The figures are part of the new Epidemiological Bulletin released by former Health Minister Gilberto Occhi, 
during a ceremony celebrating the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day in November.
During the campaign launch ceremony, the health surveillance secretary, Osnei Okumoto, announced that the Unified Health System (SUS) will offer free HIV self-tests starting in 2019. Initially, 400,000 self-tests will be available at public health units that already provide rapid testing. The expansion follows a pilot distribution project conducted by the Ministry in some cities. Currently, only the private health network offers self-tests.