In 1996, the 11th International AIDS Conference in Vancouver marked a turning point in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Researchers presented the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART), a medication regimen used to manage and treat human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). It is composed of several drugs in the antiretroviral class of medications.

HAART reduces the risk of sexual transmission to partners to nearly zero in some studies, even among couples who engage in condomless sexual acts.