Improvements in geospatial health data and tailored human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing, prevention and treatment have led to greater microtargeting of the HIV response, based on location, risk, clinical status and disease burden. These approaches show promise for achieving control of the HIV epidemic. At the same time, United Nations Member States have committed to achieving broader health and development goals by 2030, including universal health coverage (UHC). HIV epidemic control
Despite the scale-up of HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services, ongoing HIV transmission within the USA remains a major public health problem, with nearly 40 000 new HIV diagnoses in 2018 alone. In 2019 the US President Donald Trump announced a commitment to reduce HIV incidence in the USA by 75% by 2025, and by 90% by 2030, with the ultimate goal of ending the national HIV epidemic.The proposed increase in financial commitment was approved by the US Congress in the same year The
This study aims to determine the cost-effectiveness of provision of daily oral PrEP in South Africa, a setting with one of the highest HIV prevalence levels in the world, whereas considering the possibility that those at higher risk of contracting HIV may self-select into the PrEP programme. Our focus on self-selection over supply-side targeting was informed by the TWG’s preference that a risk screening tool should not be used to determine whether an individual receives PrEP, to avoid
Background: South Africa’s divided healthcare system is believed to be inequitable as the population serviced by each sector and the treatment received differs while annual healthcare expenditure is similar. The appropriateness of treatment received and in particular the cost of the same treatment between the sectors remains debatable and raises concerns around equitable healthcare. Colorectal cancer places considerable pressure on the funders, yet treatment utilization data and the
To assess delays to antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation before and after the Universal Test and Treat (UTT) and the same-day initiation (SDI) of ART policy periods in Johannesburg, South Africa. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Patients were recruited from six primary health clinics in Johannesburg. Participants Overall, 1029 newly diagnosed HIV positive adults (≥18 years) were consecutively enrolled by referral from the testing counsellor between April and December 2015
According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), in 2018, an estimated 37.9 million people were living with HIV worldwide. There were also 1.7 million new infections and 770,000 deaths. • At the end of June 2019, 24.5 million people were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). Nonetheless, increased access to high-quality ART services is needed to further reduce mortality and new infections and to optimize long term outcomes. • In this article, we summarize
Introduction: Officially rolled out on 01 September 2016, South Africa’s Universal Test and Treat (UTT) policy calls for first-line antiretroviral treatment (ART) initiation among all known HIV-positive patients, irrespective of CD4 cell count. We evaluate the treatment outcomes of patients initiated on first-line ART directly before and after the implementation of UTT. Methods: We analysed prospectively collected clinical cohort data among ART-naïve adult patients within two HIV clinics in
Background: South Africa implements variations of second-generation surveillance surveys to monitor the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic. Objective: This paper compares HIV estimates from two design variations: take all approach and sub-sampling approach to ascertain if any changes in the HIV epidemic are due to methodological changes or the inherent evolution of the
Summary Although large-scale provision of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is gaining momentum, no systematic method to evaluate or compare the effectiveness of different scale-up strategies in real-world settings exists. To date, estimating the effectiveness of PrEP has relied on clinical trials or mathematical models. We propose a novel and pragmatic metric to evaluate and compare programme effectiveness using routine implementation data. Using South African and Zambian PrEP guidelines,
Background Despite the success of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) program in South Africa, the 30% HIV prevalence among women of childbearing age requires the PMTCT program to be maximally efficient to sustain gains in the prevention of vertical HIV transmission. We aimed to determine the immunologic and virologic status at entry into antenatal care (ANC) and at childbirth among HIV positive women who conceived under the CD4<500 cells/μl antiretroviral therapy (ART)
Background: Antenatal care (ANC) provides healthcare services to pregnant women in an attempt to ensure, the best possible pregnancy outcome for women and their babies. Healthcare providers’ understanding of their patient’s behaviour and reasons for engagement in care and their response to this insight can influence patient-provider interactions and patient demand for ANC early in pregnancy. We examined the insight of healthcare providers into women’s reasons for starting ANC later than
