Publications

To successfully address HIV and hepatitis where injecting drug use occurs, countries should prioritize implementing NSPs and evidence-based drug dependence treatment (specifically OST), HIV testing and counselling and access to antiretroviral therapy. Needle and syringe programmes (NSP) provide access to sterile injecting equipment to people who inject illicit drugs to prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C through shared injection equipment.

The AIDS Epidemic Modelling is a useful and practical exercise that enables HIV data experts to effectively use country specific up-to-date epidemiological evidence and real time data to develop reliable population size estimates and based on country specific best practices construct high impact prevention and treatment scenarios to optimize the program to maximize impact, identify and mitigate key data gaps and connect potential applications of the modelling approaches for strengthening the national HIV response.

Objectives of the AEM workshop are to 1) explore the impact of alternative intervention packages on the future of epidemic, 2) compare these packages on terms of key policy variables such as infections averted, total deaths averted and relative costs and 3) construct Intervention and Impact Analysis Scenarios based on agreed coverage and intervention packages.

Estimation of people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Sri Lanka has been conducted using estimation and projection package (EPP) and Spectrum since 2009. During 2016 also PLHIV estimation was carried out using EPP and spectrum software (version 5.571 in 2016). Spectrum software was developed by Avenir Health (www.avenirhealth.org) and the Estimates and Projections Package, which is developed by the East-West Center (www.eastwestcenter.org). The UNAIDS Reference Group on Estimates, Modelling and Projections provides technical guidance on the development of the HIV component of the software (www.epidem.org). The assumptions in the models about patterns of HIV transmission and disease progression are used to obtain age- and sex-specific estimates of the number of people living with HIV, the number of people newly infected with HIV and the number of people dying from AIDS-related causes as well as other important indicators.

2016 is the first year of Youth LEAD to implement its Strategic Planning (2016-2018) and the first year of the Sustainable Development Goal. As expected the shifting funding landscape on HIV was felt distinctly and it has brought both challenges and opportunities to Youth LEAD. Reflecting back, Youth LEAD’s efforts accomplishments and challenges.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women living in settings where HIV incidence is greater than three per 100 person–years, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, often remain at substantial and increased risk of HIV acquisition during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Biological factors increase susceptibility, and social and behavioural factors may increase exposure to HIV infection. Pregnant and breastfeeding women who acquire HIV at this time have a greater risk of transmitting HIV to their infant than women who became infected with HIV before pregnancy. PrEP could complement established HIV prevention strategies for pregnant and breastfeeding women as part of a comprehensive package to reduce HIV infections among women and transmission from mothers to infants in settings with high HIV incidence.  

Antiretroviral treatment (ART) has radically changed the face of HIV infection, from a lethal disease into a manageable chronic condition. All 37 million people currently living with HIV are now eligible for ART based on the 2015 WHO Guidelines for ARVs for treatment and prevention - unfortunately, the latest data from December 2016 shows that only 18.2 million of these individuals are currently accessing ART. At the same time, daily antiretroviral regimens are costly and sometimes difficult for patients and most importantly not curative. HIV persists despite even the best treatment, and contributes to the development of non-AIDS morbidity.

Out of Step includes the results of a 29-country survey on national TB policies and practices. The report was created to identify gaps in implementation and monitor progress towards ending TB. While countries have made progress since the 2015 Out of Step report, much more work needs to be done to make sure that these policies are fully implemented across all communities, so that they will make a real difference to people affected by TB.

As of June 2017, more than 20 low- and middle-income countries have included or are planning to include dolutegravir (DTG) as a first-line option in their national guidelines. This technical update summarizes the recent evidence and provides programme considerations to support countries on how to transition to new antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for use in first- and second-line ARV in low and middle- income countries.

This second HIV Drug Resistance (HIVDR) report has been jointly developed by WHO, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (US-CDC) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (“The Global Fund”). It provides an update on recent population levels of HIVDR covering the period 2014–2016. The report includes data from 16 nationally representative surveys from 14 countries1 estimating resistance in: adults initiating ART (PDR), children younger than 18 months newly diagnosed with HIV, and adults on ART (acquired HIV drug resistance or ADR).