Abstract
Silver linings: how COVID-19 expedited differentiated service delivery for HIV.
Highlights
“In the rush to return to normal, use this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to.”
As we write this Editorial at the beginning of July 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that the African continent is experiencing its worst week of the COVID-19 pandemic and that COVID-19 cases are rising in all six of the WHO’s global regions [1, 2]
There is a serious imbalance in global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines with only 1% of people in Africa and low-income countries being fully vaccinated and 85% of doses globally having been administered in high- and upper-middle-income countries [1, 3]
Summary
Perhaps the most consistent innovation recommended for HIV services during COVID-19 has been to increase access to and duration of multi-month dispensing (MMD) of ART refills [18,19,20]. Of five models that were implemented, more than half of all clients referred participated in a community ART refill club (53%) and the largest increase in enrolment corresponded with the first COVID-19 wave in Nigeria. A pilot of home delivery through a courier service found that 84% of clients accepted home delivery with 91% of ART refills successfully delivered. Both prospective users and private pharmacies were approached in assessing the feasibility of ART refills from private pharmacies; 61% of the prospective users indicated interest and willingness to pay approximately USD$4/refill for two refills per year
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