A Vanderbilt University Medical Center investigator is hoping to improve access to HIV testing in South Africa, where more than 7 million people are known to have the virus, by training traditional healers to perform the tests. Carolyn Audet, PhD, assistant professor of Health Policy in the Department of Health Policy and Institute for Global Health, has partnered with Ryan Wagner, PhD, a research fellow at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, to develop a novel HIV testing strategy for individuals living in rural communities.

Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health (VIGH) and collaborators at the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa have received a new research development grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to compare novel implementation strategies to reduce the risk of HIV acquisition among traditional healers in South Africa.

As part of the renewal of the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research (TN CFAR) grant, VIGH core faculty members were awarded a supplement for the HIV Mobility and Engagement in Care in TN project. It will be directed by Aimalohi (Aima) Ahonkai, M.D., MPH, and Kate Clouse, PhD, MPH.

As part of the renewal of the Tennessee Center for AIDS Research (TN CFAR) grant, VIGH core faculty members were awarded a supplement for the HIV Mobility and Engagement in Care in TN project. It will be directed by Aimalohi (Aima) Ahonkai, M.D., MPH, and Kate Clouse, PhD, MPH.

A recent study co-authored by Dr. Muktar Aliyu, M.D., MPH, DrPH, professor of Health Policy and Medicine and associate director for research for VIGH, assessed the willingness of students at Bayero University in Nigeria to self-test for HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages the use of HIV self-testing, especially in areas such as West and Central Africa where 64% of people living with HIV are unaware of their status.

South Africa has more HIV/AIDS patients than any other country and is home to the world’s largest antiretroviral program. According to the World Bank, as of 2018 the prevalence of HIV among South Africans ages 15 to 49 was 20.4%. Nearly one in three pregnant women attending antenatal care in South Africa is living with HIV. As South Africans with HIV move around the country, there is a risk they will disengage from the health care system or otherwise become lost to follow-up care.

In a recent study of self-reported non-receipt of HIV test results in Mozambican adults, VIGH researchers and colleagues discovered an understudied problem in HIV testing and counseling services and suggested targeted and individualized communication approaches for specific demographic groups.

Zambézia increased the number of people living with HIV, achieving an undetectable viral load Twenty-seven year old Marcos Gabriel lives in Zambézia Province with his wife and three children. To earn his family’s daily bread he dedicates himself to mining, a job that demands health and strength.

New HIV Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) Point-of-Care (POC) device provides early diagnosis for children in Maganja da Costa District Nurse Jordina Moreira Photo credit: Mariana Lobo