Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May;27(Suppl 1):84-93.
doi: 10.1007/s10461-022-03959-0. Epub 2022 Dec 27.

Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Services in the AHISA Network

Charisse V Ahmed  1 , Merrian J Brooks  2   3 , Stephanie M DeLong  4 , Brian C Zanoni  5   6 , Irene Njuguna  7   8 , Kristin Beima-Sofie  8 , Dorothy E Dow  9   10 , Aisa Shayo  11   12 , Alana Schreibman  13 , Jennifer Chapman  3 , Lydia Chen  13 , Shreya Mehta  13 , Michael T Mbizvo  14 , Elizabeth D Lowenthal  15   16   17   18
Affiliations

Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Services in the AHISA Network

Charisse V Ahmed et al. AIDS Behav. 2023 May.

Abstract

We investigated perceived impacts of COVID-19 on the delivery of adolescent HIV treatment and prevention services in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) by administering a survey to members of the Adolescent HIV Prevention and Treatment Implementation Science Alliance (AHISA) from February to April 2021. We organized COVID-19 impacts, as perceived by AHISA teams, under three themes: service interruptions, service adjustments, and perceived individual-level health impacts. AHISA teams commonly reported interruptions to prevention programs, diagnostic testing, and access to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Common service adjustments included decentralization of ART refills, expanded multi-month ART distribution, and digital technology use. Perceived individual-level impacts included social isolation, loss to follow-up, food insecurity, poverty, and increases in adolescent pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. The need for collaboration among stakeholders were commonly cited as lessons learned by AHISA teams. Survey findings highlight the need for implementation science research to evaluate the effects of pandemic-related HIV service adaptations in SSA.

Keywords: Africa; COVID-19; HIV prevention; HIV treatment; implementation science; survey.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors do not have any competing interests related to this manuscript.

References

    1. World Health Organization. Overview 2021 [Available from: https://covid19.who.int/.
    1. Enane LA, Apondi E, Aluoch J, Bakoyannis G, Lewis Kulzer J, Kwena Z, et al. Social, economic, and health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents retained in or recently disengaged from HIV care in Kenya. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(9):e0257210. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0257210. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gittings L, Toska E, Medley S, Cluver L, Logie CH, Ralayo N, et al. ’now my life is stuck!‘: experiences of adolescents and young people during COVID-19 lockdown in South Africa. Glob Public Health. 2021;16(6):947–63. doi: 10.1080/17441692.2021.1899262. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Laborde D, Martin W, Vos R. Impacts of COVID-19 on global poverty, food security, and diets: insights from global model scenario analysis. Agric Econ. 2021;52(3):375–90. doi: 10.1111/agec.12624. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. UNAIDS. Global HIV. & AIDS statistics — Fact sheet 2021 [Available from: https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet.

Substances