Join PATH Virtually at AIDS 2020

COVID-19 has shocked health systems and societies and put at risk progress toward global and national health goals, including ending AIDS by 2030. But the response to the pandemic has, once again, demonstrated the resilience of the global HIV community. Rapid adaptations have been made to how, where, and when HIV prevention, testing, and treatment services are delivered to ensure that people living with and/or affected by HIV are reached and maintained in care.

We must continue to advance, scale, and systematize client-focused HIV tools and service innovations. This includes integrated models that shift services beyond health facilities, use virtual/telehealth platforms, leverage public-private partnerships, and promote self-care to reach the most vulnerable populations and those being left behind. And we must work across sectors to protect communities by maintaining essential health services, leveraging ingenuity and innovation to adapt primary health care, and ultimately building stronger, more resilient health systems.

The 23rd International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2020) is a crucial moment to capitalize on this momentum, push to maintain essential health services during the pandemic, regain progress toward ending AIDS by 2030, and celebrate the HIV community’s resilience. See below for a full schedule of PATH’s satellite symposia, oral presentations, and posters at the virtual conference.

Follow the conversation online at #AIDS2020 or via @PATHtweets.

Bringing PrEP closer to home: Why is now the time for differentiated PrEP?
On-demand pre-recording: Available July 4 (On-Demand Channel)
Live session: Monday, July 6; 6:00–7:00 AM PDT (Satellite Channel 3)
Live session (replay): Monday, July 6; 11:00 AM–12:00 PM PDT (Satellite Channel 4)

The global UNAIDS target is 3 million active PrEP users by the end of 2020, but as of June there were only an estimated 575,000 enrolled. Despite slow rollout initially, there are now at least 78 countries offering PrEP but with less diversity in service models than seen in differentiated ART delivery. Pre-COVID-19, there was a move toward more community-based or virtual/telehealth models that have since been accelerated during COVID-19 country lockdowns. In this session, we will highlight how some countries have rapidly pivoted PrEP programming to be more differentiated and truly client-centered—offering online, community, and private-sector service options to expand and maintain access. In the live session, perspectives from providers, PrEP users, ministries of health, and global normative agencies will also be shared with a moderated discussion on how a differentiated approach to PrEP will be essential to significantly increase uptake by the end of 2020 and beyond!

This satellite session is co-sponsored by PATH, AVAC, the International AIDS Society, and USAID, and will feature Kimberly Green as a session co-chair, with presentations by PATH’s Tham Thu Tran and Habel Alwang’a on PrEP delivery innovations in Vietnam and Kenya, respectively.

Scaling access to 2+1+1 PrEP: Early experiences in rolling out event-driven PrEP in low- and middle-income countries
On-demand pre-recording: Available July 4 (On-Demand Channel)
Live session: Tuesday, July 7; 6:00–7:00 AM PDT (Satellite Channel 2)
Live session (replay): Tuesday, July 7; 11:00 AM–12:00 PM PDT (Satellite Channel 2)

What’s the 2+1+1? In July 2019, the World Health Organization updated its PrEP guidance to include the 4-pill (2+1+1) event-driven (ED)-PrEP dosing regimen for men who have sex with men. ED-PrEP is as efficacious as daily oral PrEP when taken correctly, and provides flexibility and choice to those who may not need a daily pill to protect themselves from HIV. ED-PrEP offers the additional advantages of clear guidance on when to start and stop PrEP, reduced cost to users, and lower drug exposure. This session will highlight first experiences in implementing ED-PrEP in early adopter low- and middle-income countries, sharing key milestones, lessons learned, and challenges overcome. It will also feature a panel discussion on what can be done to further increase access to ED-PrEP among men who have sex with men from the perspectives of policymakers, scientists, advocates, and PrEP users themselves.

This satellite session is co-sponsored by PATH, the World Health Organization, and USAID, and will feature Kimberly Green as a session co-chair and moderator, with a presentation by PATH’s Huu Ngo on delivering ED-PrEP in Vietnam.

Private-sector delivery of self-testing: Emerging trends
On-demand pre-recording: Available July 4 (On-Demand Channel)
Live session: Wednesday, July 8; 11:00 AM–12:00 PM PDT (Satellite Channel 4)

The availability of self-testing through private-sector channels is highly appealing to men, youth, and others who may not be able to conveniently or privately access services in public-sector facilities. This session will showcase innovative approaches to expanding access and generating demand for self-testing through private channels, including programs for adolescent girls to access testing for free, media campaigns targeting young men, and public-private partnerships with pharmacies to offer self-testing at low cost. The session will explore what approaches work, what challenges are preventing the private sector from scaling more rapidly, and what new opportunities are on the horizon.

This satellite session, organized by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation, will feature Kimberly Green speaking in the on-demand session and serving as a panelist during the live session, highlighting how PATH is leveraging private-sector outlets in Vietnam to enhance access to self-testing.

Worried about TB? Urine luck! The promise of LF-LAM to reduce TB-related mortality
On-demand pre-recording: Available July 4 (On-Demand Channel)
Live session: Thursday, July 9; 6:00–7:00 AM PDT (Satellite Channel 2)

Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV), accounting for a third of AIDS-related deaths in 2019. While estimates suggest that PLHIV are 19 times more likely to contract TB, case-finding among PLHIV remains low, with 49% unaware of their coinfection. The World Health Organization–recommended lateral flow lipoarabinomannan (LF-LAM) test facilitates quicker TB diagnosis and initiation on treatment (or TB preventive therapy for those without active TB) among PLHIV, but uptake of this test in high TB/HIV burden countries has been too slow. In this session, we will explore barriers to TB diagnosis among PLHIV, spotlight successful adoptions of LF-LAM, highlight results from existing LF-LAM, and preview other diagnostic tools in the pipeline. The session will also include a panel discussion of what needs to be done to accelerate access to appropriate tests and treatments to reduce TB-related deaths among PLHIV.

This satellite session is co-sponsored by PATH with the Stop TB Partnership and their private-sector constituency , and will feature Kimberly Green as a session co-chair, with a presentation by PATH’s David Boyle on new urine-LAM technologies in development.

HIV, self-care, and COVID-19: Lessons for the future of the HIV response
Live session: Thursday, July 9; 6:00–6:45 AM PDT (Satellite Channel 3)

As the COVID-19 pandemic further limits access to facility-based care, meeting the needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV) or at risk of HIV has never been more important and must be done with consideration for protecting health workers and PLHIV as well as limiting the spread of COVID-19. In the absence of being able to go to the clinic, new diagnostic, monitoring, and digital tools and medicines have led to a greater configuration of self-led HIV prevention, treatment, and care possibilities than ever before. In this dynamic, interactive session, we will explore how different self-care interventions and adaptations have become a critical answer in the health system response to COVID-19 and the potential to transform the HIV response.

This satellite session is organized by the Self-Care Trailblazer Group with PATH as a co-sponsor, and will feature PATH’s Davina Canagasabey as a panelist highlighting PATH’s adaptations to ensure continuity of self-care approaches during COVID-19.

STAR HOT TALK : COVID-19 and HIVST: Zoom into HIVST online distribution models, experiences from South Africa and Vietnam
Time: Thursday, July 9; 4:00-5:00 AM PDT (STAR Exhibition Booth)

HOT TALK at the HIV Self-Testing Africa (STAR) Initiative’s virtual exhibition booth, which will feature a presentation by PATH’s Tham Tran and Hong Doan on how Vietnam is leveraging virtual platforms and an online ordering system to scale access to HIV self-testing.

Transforming PrEP in Vietnam: Rethinking service delivery to enhance access among transgender women
Session: OAD06 – PrEP around the world (Abstract Sessions On-Demand Channel)
Presenter: Kimberly Green

The #Stayhome #Selftest campaign: Rapid pivot of HIV testing services to enable continuity of care in Hanoi, Vietnam, during the COVID-19 lockdown
Session: OADLB01 – Track D late-breaker abstracts
Time: Wednesday, July 8; 1:00 AM (Prime Channel-Live sessions)
Presenter: Kimberly Green; Tham Thi Tran

Key populations doing it for themselves: The rise of social-enterprise approaches to increase financial sustainability of the community-based HIV response
Session: OAE02 – Breaking the cycle: From aid to sustainable development (Abstract Sessions On-Demand Channel)
Presenter: Yen Vu

Results from a performance-based financing pilot to incentivize HIV case-finding and viral load sample collection in Haut-Katanga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Session: OAE06 – Money makes the world go around: Domestic financing for an effective HIV response (Abstract Sessions On-Demand Channel)
Presenter: Davina Canagasabey

Take the wheel: Communities in the driver’s seat of HIV service delivery
Session: OAE08
Session moderator: Kimberly Green

Leading from the community: How key population organizations in Vietnam transformed from peer support groups to clinical service providers
Session: OAE08 – Take the wheel: Communities in the driver’s seat of HIV service delivery (Abstract Sessions On-Demand Channel)
Presenter: Bao Vu Ngoc

Thinking outside the “health facility” box: Feasibility of offering HIV testing and treatment services at an alternative medicine center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Poster Channel – Track E
Presenter: Cyprien Tendo

Decentralized PrEP delivery in Vietnam: High persistence among MSM and TG women at month 12 and strong preference for a community-clinic setting
Poster Channel – Track E
Presenter: Kimberly Green

DREAMS interventions reduce HIV positivity among adolescent girls and young women in Western Kenya
Poster Channel – Track C
Presenter: Gerald Kimondo

Use of facility missed appointment tracking tool to improve retention among patients on ART in Kisumu and Migori counties, Western Kenya
Poster Channel – Track E
Presenter: Nicholas Odiyo

Case study of effective implementation of assisted partner notification services in Ober Kamoth Sub-county Hospital, Kisumu County, Kenya
Poster Channel – Track E
Presenter: Irene Odhiambo

Individual and contextual factors associated with PrEP adherence among Kenyan adolescent girls and young women
Poster Channel – Track D
Presenter: Jane Cover