Lessons Learned from Programmatic Gains in HIV Service Delivery During the COVID-19 Pandemic — 41 PEPFAR-Supported Countries, 2020 | MMWR - ISS-G20 Laboratorium Repository

Summary

What is already known about the topic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected health care infrastructure worldwide.

What is added by this report?

In 41 U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)–supported countries, overall gains were observed in HIV treatment (5%) and viral load suppression (2%) during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Among countries with the largest overall programmatic gains, strategies that facilitated HIV program improvements included enhanced index testing and community- and home-based testing; multimonth dispensing of medications; streamlining clinic visits; aligning medication pick-up with viral load testing; and improvements in data use.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Lessons learned from PEPFAR-supported countries reporting the most programmatic progress in HIV programs provide important insights into strategies that can be used to realize programmatic gains during a global health crisis.

Entire content available on: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7112a2.htm