The Monday Press

April 2024

HIV News Around The Globe

New regimens in development, including once-weekly pills and semiannual shots, could help control the virus in hard-to-reach populations.

A pill taken once a week. A shot administered at home once a month. Even a jab given at a clinic every six months.

In the next five to 10 years, these options may be available to prevent or treat H.I.V. Instead of drugs that must be taken daily, scientists are closing in on longer-acting alternatives — perhaps even a future in which H.I.V. may require attention just twice a year, inconceivable in the darkest decades of the epidemic.

You can read more about this report here

UNAIDS calls for sustained and expanded health and HIV investments at the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank

WASHINGTON/GENEVA, 16 April 2024— As financial leaders meet in Washington for the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, UNAIDS is calling for increased and sustainable investments in the global response to HIV and other health threats.

“At a time of multiple geo-political and economic crises, the need to tackle the financial constraints threatening the global fight against HIV and other health threats has never been greater,” said UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima, “At their Spring Meetings in Washington, global financial leaders must find the courage to reject calls for more fiscal restraint and embrace measures that can release the necessary investments to save millions of people and transform the lives of the most vulnerable all over the world, including women and girls.

You can read more about the press statement here

ACTG, a global clinical trials network focused on HIV and other infectious diseases, today announced the opening of A5374, a phase 1/2a study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and antiviral effect of a novel combination regimen that includes therapeutic T-cell vaccines, two broadly neutralizing antibodies (bNAbs), and an immune-system boosting treatment among people living with HIV who started antiretroviral treatment (ART) during acute (early) HIV infection. A5374 (Triple Immune Strategy for HIV Remission) is a multi-site, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. The study hypothesizes that this combination regimen will be safe and result in a longer period of viral control during a closely monitored pause in ART (known as an analytic treatment interruption) compared to placebo. Read more on this new development here

South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic worldwide, with 19 % of the global HIV population calling it home. Despite the daunting numbers, with over 3 million people still awaiting treatment and new infections hitting hard - especially among the youth - the HIV crisis threatens the very fabric of South Africa's future.

A silver lining appears as efforts to address sexual health begin to make headway. These initiatives are crucial in educating young South Africans about sexually transmitted infections (STIs), preventing teenage pregnancies, and increasing HIV awareness. They emphasize the power of choice in safeguarding health and, ultimately, aid in reducing STI rates, and new HIV infection. Read more on this here.

Studies examining the uptake of HIV testing and its determinants among young women in Ghana are rare. This study sought to meet that gap. An earlier study examined the relationship between ethnicity and HIV testing among adolescent girls and young women in Ghana and found that there was no association between ethnicity and HIV testing. Given that young women were the most vulnerable, with a larger proportion of HIV cases recorded among them, it was important to understand the factors that influenced their uptake of HIV testing.

Therefore, in this study, it is reported the prevalence and factors associated with HIV testing among young women in Ghana. Findings of the present study highlighted the HIV testing rates among young women and provided empirical information on the determinants worth considering in planning HIV eradication programs in Ghana. read more on this study here

Nigeria’ll end HIV public health threat by 2030

The Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. CDC), Dr. Mary Boyd, has expressed optimism that Nigeria would end HIV as a public health threat by 2030. She expressed recently at the end of the 4th biannual stakeholder engagement meeting of the U.S. CDC in Abuja with the theme: “Improving Public Health Programs Through Science.” According to Boyd, the scientific work being done in Nigeria through various implementing partners would reach “zero-dose children, and strengthen Nigeria’s ability to prevent, detect, and respond to disease threats.”

She said the discussions, which focused on improving health outcomes and achieving HIV epidemic control at the sub-national level, resulted in the enthusiasm about Nigeria’s efforts towards achieving success in disease control.