Paraguay conducted 371,480 rapid HIV tests in 2025, compared with 145,711 in 2022, and expanded availability to the country’s 18 health regions. The network also came to include 27 hospitals equipped and supplied to perform diagnoses, as well as HIV self-tests as an access alternative.
The expansion is accompanied by measures to shorten the interval between confirmation of the virus and the start of antiretroviral treatment. Protocols of the National HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections Control Program (Pronasida), a reference service of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare, allow therapy to begin on the same day as a positive result when the clinical assessment indicates that this is possible.
Between November 2025 and August 2026, 180 people began treatment at Pronasida’s counseling unit. Of that total, 75.9% began therapy within seven days of diagnosis and 91% did so within no more than 14 days. The median time was 5.5 days. Of the 180 people followed during that period, 139 began treatment in 2026.
Throughout 2025, 1,688 starts of antiretroviral treatment and 1,650 new diagnoses were recorded. The indicators have different denominators and meanings: one measures the start of therapy, while the other counts detections during the period. Therefore, an isolated comparison does not show that everyone diagnosed began treatment in that same year.
Preventive measures also advanced. By July 2026, 34,012 people had received prevention packages, 1,966 remained active in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), and 1,261,884 condoms had been distributed. Itapúa delivered 5,382 packages, ranking behind only Capital and Central and ahead of Alto Paraná and Misiones.
HIV tests are free and confidential at services in Paraguay’s public health network. Early diagnosis facilitates the start of therapy; when the viral load remains undetectable, a person receiving treatment does not transmit HIV through sex. Self-testing expands access options, but a positive result must be confirmed by a health service.