A Journey of Hope: giving research participants a voice to share their experiences and improve community engagement around advanced HIV disease in Uganda

About this activity

Substantial progress has been made in the treatment and prevention of HIV in the last decade thanks largely to the widespread roll out of antiretroviral treatment (ART) and recommendation to treat all people living with HIV (PLHIV) regardless of CD4 cell count. The ambitious UNAIDS “90-90-90” target states that, by 2020, 90% of PLHIV should be diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed initiated on ART, and 90% of those on ART should be virally suppressed (HIV viral load <50 copies/ml), aiming to reach the Sustainable Development Goal of ending the HIV epidemic by 2030. While unquestionable strides in starting people on ART have been made, gains in recent years are decreasing and 23,000 people died from HIV-related illness in 2018 in Uganda alone. Our Meningitis Clinical Research Team based at the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) Kampala and Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital Uganda, is dedicated to reducing advanced HIV-associated mortality by improving the diagnosis and treatment of common...