During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the delivery of HIV prevention and treatment services globally. To mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic, service providers and communities adapted and accelerated an array of HIV interventions to meet the needs of people living with HIV and people at risk of acquiring HIV in diverse geographical and epidemiological settings. As a result of these adaptations, services such as HIV treatment showed programmatic resilience and remained relatively stable in 2020 and into the first half of 2021. To review lessons learned and suggest which novel approaches to sustain, UNAIDS convened a virtual consultation on Feb 1–2, 2022, which was attended by a range of stakeholders from different areas of global HIV response.
The full report published by The Lancet and co-authored by PRI lead Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr provides an assessment of the effect of COVID-19 on HIV services; review of innovations, adaptations, and accelerations in practice; suggestions on which novel approaches to sustain; and proposed further implementation research.