Covid-19 profound effects on HIV treatments.
According to the brief, covid-19 has caused massive disruptions to treatment of HIV as well as other severe diseases. There is some evidence that people living with HIV may have an increased risk of severe disease and death from COVID-19. This poses a high risk to communities in the developing countries.
WHO survey that was conducted in the beginning of the year and included 127 countries show that more than a quarter reported partial disruption in ARVs treatment for people living with HIV. The impacts are felt more by the communities in the developing countries as there are no enough resources to combat some of this disruptions.
In a bid to curb the situation, countries have introduced a number of effective adaptations and innovations. For instance in Africa, many countries have built their testing system for covid-19 on the existing lab infrastructure for HIV and TB. And many countries have introduced more self-testing for HIV to support self-care and avoid the need for people to visit clinics or hospitals reducing exposure.
The current state calls for massive support from WHO and other stakeholders through provision of drugs and resources to ensure adequate supply of the treatments and other HIV treatment-related services.
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