Rapid Scale-up of an Antiretroviral Therapy Program Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic - Nine States, Nigeria, March 31, 2019-September 30, 2020.
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
; 70(12): 421-426, 2021 Mar 26.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1151031
ABSTRACT
In 2018, an estimated 1.8 million persons living in Nigeria had HIV infection (1.3% of the total population), including 1.1 million (64%) who were receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) (1). Effective ART reduces morbidity and mortality rates among persons with HIV infection and prevents HIV transmission once viral load is suppressed to undetectable levels (2,3). In April 2019, through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR),* CDC launched an 18-month ART Surge program in nine Nigerian states to rapidly increase the number of persons with HIV infection receiving ART. CDC analyzed programmatic data gathered during March 31, 2019-September 30, 2020, to describe the ART Surge program's progress on case finding, ART initiation, patient retention, and ART Surge program growth. Overall, the weekly number of newly identified persons with HIV infection who initiated ART increased approximately eightfold, from 587 (week ending May 4, 2019) to 5,329 (week ending September 26, 2020). The ART Surge program resulted in 208,202 more HIV-infected persons receiving PEPFAR-supported ART despite the COVID-19 pandemic (97,387 more persons during March 31, 2019-March 31, 2020 and an additional 110,815 persons during April 2020-September 2020). Comprehensive, data-guided, locally adapted interventions and the use of incident command structures can help increase the number of persons with HIV infection who receive ART, reducing HIV-related morbidity and mortality as well as decreasing HIV transmission.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
HIV Infections
/
Program Development
/
Anti-Retroviral Agents
/
COVID-19
/
International Cooperation
Type of study:
Observational study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Africa
/
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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