Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

HHS Logo
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
NIH Ribbon
National Institutes of Health
About OAR

Progress Against HIV/AIDS Timeline

Infographic:- 1981: CDC publishes first MMWR Report relating to the disease later named AIDS.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 1982: NIH provides first HIV/AIDs funding.(HHS)- 1983: Congress passes first bill with funding for AIDS research and treatment.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 1986: Virus causing AIDS officially dubbed HIV.(HIV/AIDS)- 1987: Zidovudine (AZT) is the first HIV drug pre-approved by the FDA for treatment of people with HIV.(HIV/AIDS)- 1988: Congress establishes OAR to coordinate HIV/AIDS research across the NIH.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 1993: CDC expands definition of AIDS to include conditions prevalent in women.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 1993: Congress passes the NIH Revitalization Act.(HHS)- 1994: CDC recommends AZT therapy for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 1997: Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) becomes new standard of HIV care.(HIV/AIDS)- 1998: CDC issues first national treatment guidelines for the use of antiretroviral therapy in adults and adolescents with HIV.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 2003: Creation of PEPFAR (President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).(HHS and HIV/AIDS)- 2011: Treatment as prevention becomes a game changer.(HIV/AIDS)- 2012: FDA approves first drug for pre-exposure prophylaxis (Truvada for PrEP).(HIV/AIDS)- 2019: Ending the HIV Epidemic announced.(HHS and HIV/AIDS)

This page last reviewed on January 24, 2025