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Nathan Ford and co-authors discuss the systematic identification of research gaps in improving HIV service delivery.

Peter Ehrenkranz and co-authors present a cyclical cascade of care for people with HIV infection, aiming to facilitate assessment of outcomes.

Nathan Ford and co-authors discuss global priorities in the provision of HIV prevention and treatment services.

Background Antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in the community and outside of a traditional health facility has the potential to improve linkage to ART, decongest health facilities, and minimize structural barriers to attending HIV services among people living with HIV (PLWH). We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to determine the effect of offering ART initiation in the community on HIV treatment outcomes. Methods and findings We searched databases between 1 January 2013 and 22 February 2021 to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies that compared offering ART initiation in a community setting to offering ART initiation in a traditional health facility or alternative community setting. We assessed risk of bias, reporting of implementation outcomes, and real-world relevance and used Mantel–Haenszel methods to generate pooled risk ratios (RRs) and risk differences (RDs) with 95% confidence intervals. We evaluated heterogeneity qualitatively and quantitatively and used GRADE to evaluate overall evidence certainty. Searches yielded 4,035 records, resulting in 8 included studies—4 RCTs and 4 observational studies—conducted in Lesotho, South Africa, Nigeria, Uganda, Malawi, Tanzania, and Haiti—a total of 11,196 PLWH. Five studies were conducted in general HIV populations, 2 in key populations, and 1 in adolescents. Community ART initiation strategies included community-based HIV testing coupled with ART initiation at home or at community venues; 5 studies maintained ART refills in the community, and 4 provided refills at the health facility. All studies were pragmatic, but in most cases provided additional resources. Few studies reported on implementation outcomes. All studies showed higher ART uptake in community initiation arms compared to facility initiation and refill arms (standard of care) (RR 1.73, 95% CI 1.22 to 2.45; RD 30%, 95% CI 10% to 50%; 5 studies). Retention (RR 1.43, 95% CI 1.32 to 1.54; RD 19%, 95% CI 11% to 28%; 4 studies) and viral suppression (RR 1.31, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.49; RD 15%, 95% CI 10% to 21%; 3 studies) at 12 months were also higher in the community-based ART initiation arms. Improved uptake, retention, and viral suppression with community ART initiation were seen across population subgroups—including men, adolescents, and key populations. One study reported no difference in retention and viral suppression at 2 years. There were limited data on adherence and mortality. Social harms and adverse events appeared to be minimal and similar between community ART initiation and standard of care. One study compared ART refill strategies following community ART initiation (community versus facility refills) and found no difference in viral suppression (RD −7%, 95% CI −19% to 6%) or retention at 12 months (RD −12%, 95% CI −23% to 0.3%). This systematic review was limited by few studies for inclusion, poor-quality observational data, and short-term outcomes. Conclusions Based on data from a limited set of studies, community ART initiation appears to result in higher ART uptake, retention, and viral suppression at 1 year compared to facility-based ART initiation. Implementation on a wider scale necessitates broader exploration of costs, logistics, and acceptability by providers and PLWH to ensure that these effects are reproducible when delivered at scale, in different contexts, and over time., Ingrid Eshun-Wilson and co-workers assess the available evidence on community-based treatment initiation for people with HIV., Author summary Why was this study done? Over the last decade HIV services have increasingly moved out of the health facility and into the community through the provision of decentralized and differentiated HIV care. It remains unclear however whether initiating ART in a community setting will result in treatment and safety outcomes that are comparable to facility-based ART initiation. What did the researchers do and find? We conducted a systematic review to identify studies where ART was initiated at community locations, including homes, mobile vans, or other community venues. We identified 8 studies (including 11,196 HIV-positive people), 7 of which were conducted in sub-Saharan Africa; 4 were randomized controlled trials and 4 were cohort studies. The methodological quality of the randomized controlled trials was high, but cohort data were of poorer quality. Studies were generally pragmatic in design, but implementation outcomes were infrequently reported. Based on meta-analysis of this limited dataset, it appeared that ART initiation in the community resulted in higher ART uptake, higher retention, and greater viral suppression at 1 year compared to facility-based ART initiation and refill, among HIV-positive people offered ART. These findings were consistent across population subgroups and various implementation strategies. There were insufficient data on serious adverse events or mortality to draw firm conclusions on these outcomes. What do these findings mean? Community ART initiation may result in better outcomes than ART initiation in traditional health facilities. To increase the robustness of these findings, high-quality implementation research conducted in diverse settings, exploring optimum combinations of community ART initiation and ART refill strategies over longer time periods, will be critical.

Background The effect of antiretroviral treatment (ART) eligibility expansions on patient outcomes, including rates of timely ART initiation among those enrolling in care, has not been assessed on a large scale. In addition, it is not known whether ART eligibility expansions may lead to “crowding out” of sicker patients. Methods and findings We examined changes in timely ART initiation (within 6 months) at the original site of HIV care enrollment after ART eligibility expansions among 284,740 adult ART-naïve patients at 171 International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) network sites in 22 countries where national policies expanding ART eligibility were introduced between 2007 and 2015. Half of the sites included in this analysis were from Southern Africa, one-third were from East Africa, and the remainder were from the Asia-Pacific, Central Africa, North America, and South and Central America regions. The median age of patients enrolling in care at contributing sites was 33.5 years, and the median percentage of female patients at these clinics was 62.5%. We assessed the 6-month cumulative incidence of timely ART initiation (CI-ART) before and after major expansions of ART eligibility (i.e., expansion to treat persons with CD4 ≤ 350 cells/μL [145 sites in 22 countries] and CD4 ≤ 500 cells/μL [152 sites in 15 countries]). Random effects metaregression models were used to estimate absolute changes in CI-ART at each site before and after guideline expansion. The crude pooled estimate of change in CI-ART was 4.3 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.6 to 6.1) after ART eligibility expansion to CD4 ≤ 350, from a baseline median CI-ART of 53%; and 15.9 percentage points (pp) (95% CI 14.3 to 17.4) after ART eligibility expansion to CD4 ≤ 500, from a baseline median CI-ART of 57%. The largest increases in CI-ART were observed among those newly eligible for treatment (18.2 pp after expansion to CD4 ≤ 350 and 47.4 pp after expansion to CD4 ≤ 500), with no change or small increases among those eligible under prior guidelines (CD4 ≤ 350: −0.6 pp, 95% CI −2.0 to 0.7 pp; CD4 ≤ 500: 4.9 pp, 95% CI 3.3 to 6.5 pp). For ART eligibility expansion to CD4 ≤ 500, changes in CI-ART were largest among younger patients (16–24 years: 21.5 pp, 95% CI 18.9 to 24.2 pp). Key limitations include the lack of a counterfactual and difficulty accounting for secular outcome trends, due to universal exposure to guideline changes in each country. Conclusions These findings underscore the potential of ART eligibility expansion to improve the timeliness of ART initiation globally, particularly for young adults., In a large-scale analysis, Olga Tymejczyk and colleagues study antiretroviral therapy initiation in people with HIV infection accompanying secular changes in treatment eligibility., Author summary Why was this study done? In 2009 and 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended that HIV patients with CD4 counts ≤350 and ≤500 cells/μL, respectively, initiate antiretroviral treatment (ART). The expansion of ART eligibility criteria has the potential to increase ART initiation rates, especially among healthier patients; however, it could also lead to “crowding out” of persons with more advanced disease and lower rates of ART initiation among these patients. While many countries have adopted WHO guidelines, the impact of ART eligibility expansions on timely ART initiation has not been studied on a large scale. What did the researchers do and find? We examined the changes in timely ART initiation after national ART eligibility criteria were expanded to CD4 ≤ 350 and/or CD4 ≤ 500 in 22 countries, using data on 284,740 adult ART-naïve patients at 171 sites in the International Epidemiology Databases to Evaluate AIDS (IeDEA) network. Site-level cumulative incidence of ART initiation (CI-ART) within 6 months of enrollment increased by 4.3 percentage points after national ART eligibility expansion to CD4 ≤ 350 and by 15.9 percentage points after expansion to CD4 ≤ 500. At the individual level, increases were greatest among patients 16–24 years old at enrollment and those newly eligible for ART. No change or small improvements in CI-ART were also observed among patients already eligible for ART before eligibility expansion. At the site level, sites with the lowest initial levels of CI-ART experienced the greatest increases following guideline expansions. What do these findings mean? Overall, ART eligibility expansions were followed by appreciable improvements in timely ART initiation. Many clinics can support ART initiation among newly eligible patients with less advanced disease without negatively affecting ART initiation rates among those with more advanced disease. These findings illustrate the potential of ART eligibility expansion to improve the timeliness of ART initiation and patient outcomes along the care cascade globally, particularly for younger adults, in support of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets, thereby reducing morbidity, mortality, and onward HIV transmission.

Background Maintaining high levels of adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is a challenge across settings and populations. Understanding the relative importance of different barriers to adherence will help inform the targeting of different interventions and future research priorities. Methods and Findings We searched MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and PsychINFO from 01 January 1997 to 31 March 2016 for studies reporting barriers to adherence to ART. We calculated pooled proportions of reported barriers to adherence per age group (adults, adolescents, and children). We included data from 125 studies that provided information about adherence barriers for 17,061 adults, 1,099 children, and 856 adolescents. We assessed differences according to geographical location and level of economic development. The most frequently reported individual barriers included forgetting (adults 41.4%, 95% CI 37.3%–45.4%; adolescents 63.1%, 95% CI 46.3%–80.0%; children/caregivers 29.2%, 95% CI 20.1%–38.4%), being away from home (adults 30.4%, 95% CI 25.5%–35.2%; adolescents 40.7%, 95% CI 25.7%–55.6%; children/caregivers 18.5%, 95% CI 10.3%–26.8%), and a change to daily routine (adults 28.0%, 95% CI 20.9%–35.0%; adolescents 32.4%, 95% CI 0%–75.0%; children/caregivers 26.3%, 95% CI 15.3%–37.4%). Depression was reported as a barrier to adherence by more than 15% of patients across all age categories (adults 15.5%, 95% CI 12.8%–18.3%; adolescents 25.7%, 95% CI 17.7%–33.6%; children 15.1%, 95% CI 3.9%–26.3%), while alcohol/substance misuse was commonly reported by adults (12.9%, 95% CI 9.7%–16.1%) and adolescents (28.8%, 95% CI 11.8%–45.8%). Secrecy/stigma was a commonly cited barrier to adherence, reported by more than 10% of adults and children across all regions (adults 13.6%, 95% CI 11.9%–15.3%; children/caregivers 22.3%, 95% CI 10.2%–34.5%). Among adults, feeling sick (15.9%, 95% CI 13.0%–18.8%) was a more commonly cited barrier to adherence than feeling well (9.3%, 95% CI 7.2%–11.4%). Health service–related barriers, including distance to clinic (adults 17.5%, 95% CI 13.0%–21.9%) and stock outs (adults 16.1%, 95% CI 11.7%–20.4%), were also frequently reported. Limitations of this review relate to the fact that included studies differed in approaches to assessing adherence barriers and included variable durations of follow up. Studies that report self-reported adherence will likely underestimate the frequency of non-adherence. For children, barriers were mainly reported by caregivers, which may not correspond to the most important barriers faced by children. Conclusions Patients on ART face multiple barriers to adherence, and no single intervention will be sufficient to ensure that high levels of adherence to treatment and virological suppression are sustained. For maximum efficacy, health providers should consider a more triaged approach that first identifies patients at risk of poor adherence and then seeks to establish the support that is needed to overcome the most important barriers to adherence., In this systematic review and meta-analysis, Nathan Ford and colleagues assess the most frequently reported barriers by patients experiencing challenges adhering to antiretroviral therapy., Author Summary Why Was This Study Done? Despite more than two decades of research on adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and more than 17 million HIV-positive individuals on treatment, adherence to ART remains a major challenge. This review aimed to assess the most frequently reported barriers to adherence by patients experiencing adherence challenges. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? Published data from 125 studies on patient-reported barriers to adherence were systematically reviewed and analyzed by age group. The most frequently reported individual barriers across all age groups included forgetting, being away from home, and a change to daily routine. Depression was reported as a barrier to adherence by more than 15% of patients across all age categories, while alcohol/substance misuse was commonly reported as a barrier by adults and adolescents. With respect to contextual barriers, secrecy/stigma was a commonly cited barrier to adherence, reported by more than 10% of patients across all regions. Health service–related barriers were frequently reported, including distance to clinic and stock outs. What Do These Findings Mean? Evidence-based interventions exist that may address many of the most common patient-reported barriers to adherence. However, no single intervention will be sufficient to ensure that high levels of adherence to treatment and virological suppression are sustained. Health providers should consider a more triaged approach that first identifies patients at risk of poor adherence and then seeks to establish the support that is needed to overcome the most important barriers to adherence. Several key health service improvements are also required to ensure that patients are able to consistently access ART.

BackgroundThe Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets have reinforced the importance of functioning laboratory services to ensure prompt diagnosis and to assess treatment efficacy. We surveyed the availability and utilization of technologies for HIV treatment monitoring and early infant diagnosis (EID) in World Health Organization (WHO) Member States.Methods and findingsThe survey questionnaire included 14 structured questions focusing on HIV testing, cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) testing, HIV viral load (VL) testing, and EID and was administered annually from 2012 to 2014 through WHO country offices, with each survey covering the previous 12-mo period. Across 127 targeted countries, survey response rates were 60% in 2012, 67% in 2013, and 78% in 2014. There were encouraging trends towards increased procurement of CD4 and VL/EID instruments in reporting countries. Globally, the capacity of available CD4 instruments was sufficient to meet the demand of all people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), irrespective of treatment status (4.62 theoretical tests per PLWHA in 2013 [median 7.33; interquartile range (IQR) 3.44-17.75; median absolute deviation (MAD) 4.35]). The capacity of VL instruments was inadequate to cover all PLWHA in many reporting countries (0.44 tests per PLWHA in 2013 [median 0.90; IQR 0.30-2.40; MAD 0.74]). Of concern, only 13.7% of existing CD4 capacity (median 4.3%; IQR 1.1%-12.1%; MAD 3.8%) and only 36.5% of existing VL capacity (median 9.4%; IQR 2.3%-28.9%; MAD 8.2%) was being utilized across reporting countries in 2013. By the end of 2013, 7.4% of all CD4 instruments (5.8% CD4 conventional instruments and 11.0% of CD4 point of care [POC]) and 10% of VL/EID instruments were reportedly not in use because of lack of reagents, the equipment not being installed or deployed, maintenance, and staff training requirements. Major limitations of this survey included under-reporting and/or incomplete reporting in some national programmes and noncoverage of the private sector.ConclusionThis is the first attempt to comprehensively gather information on HIV testing technology coverage in WHO Member States. The survey results suggest that major operational changes will need to be implemented, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, if the 90-90-90 targets are to be met.

Expanded access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) using universal test and treat (UTT) has been suggested as a strategy to eliminate HIV in South Africa within 7 y based on an influential mathematical modeling study. However, the underlying deterministic model was criticized widely, and other modeling studies did not always confirm the study's finding. The objective of our study is to better understand the implications of different model structures and assumptions, so as to arrive at the best possible predictions of the long-term impact of UTT and the possibility of elimination of HIV.We developed nine structurally different mathematical models of the South African HIV epidemic in a stepwise approach of increasing complexity and realism. The simplest model resembles the initial deterministic model, while the most comprehensive model is the stochastic microsimulation model STDSIM, which includes sexual networks and HIV stages with different degrees of infectiousness. We defined UTT as annual screening and immediate ART for all HIV-infected adults, starting at 13% in January 2012 and scaled up to 90% coverage by January 2019. All models predict elimination, yet those that capture more processes underlying the HIV transmission dynamics predict elimination at a later point in time, after 20 to 25 y. Importantly, the most comprehensive model predicts that the current strategy of ART at CD4 count ≤350 cells/µl will also lead to elimination, albeit 10 y later compared to UTT. Still, UTT remains cost-effective, as many additional life-years would be saved. The study's major limitations are that elimination was defined as incidence below 1/1,000 person-years rather than 0% prevalence, and drug resistance was not modeled.Our results confirm previous predictions that the HIV epidemic in South Africa can be eliminated through universal testing and immediate treatment at 90% coverage. However, more realistic models show that elimination is likely to occur at a much later point in time than the initial model suggested. Also, UTT is a cost-effective intervention, but less cost-effective than previously predicted because the current South African ART treatment policy alone could already drive HIV into elimination. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary.

In a systematic review and meta-analysis, Amitabh Suthar and colleagues describe the evidence base for different HIV testing and counseling services provided outside of health facilities. Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary, Background Effective national and global HIV responses require a significant expansion of HIV testing and counselling (HTC) to expand access to prevention and care. Facility-based HTC, while essential, is unlikely to meet national and global targets on its own. This article systematically reviews the evidence for community-based HTC. Methods and Findings PubMed was searched on 4 March 2013, clinical trial registries were searched on 3 September 2012, and Embase and the World Health Organization Global Index Medicus were searched on 10 April 2012 for studies including community-based HTC (i.e., HTC outside of health facilities). Randomised controlled trials, and observational studies were eligible if they included a community-based testing approach and reported one or more of the following outcomes: uptake, proportion receiving their first HIV test, CD4 value at diagnosis, linkage to care, HIV positivity rate, HTC coverage, HIV incidence, or cost per person tested (outcomes are defined fully in the text). The following community-based HTC approaches were reviewed: (1) door-to-door testing (systematically offering HTC to homes in a catchment area), (2) mobile testing for the general population (offering HTC via a mobile HTC service), (3) index testing (offering HTC to household members of people with HIV and persons who may have been exposed to HIV), (4) mobile testing for men who have sex with men, (5) mobile testing for people who inject drugs, (6) mobile testing for female sex workers, (7) mobile testing for adolescents, (8) self-testing, (9) workplace HTC, (10) church-based HTC, and (11) school-based HTC. The Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale and the Cochrane Collaboration's “risk of bias” tool were used to assess the risk of bias in studies with a comparator arm included in pooled estimates. 117 studies, including 864,651 participants completing HTC, met the inclusion criteria. The percentage of people offered community-based HTC who accepted HTC was as follows: index testing, 88% of 12,052 participants; self-testing, 87% of 1,839 participants; mobile testing, 87% of 79,475 participants; door-to-door testing, 80% of 555,267 participants; workplace testing, 67% of 62,406 participants; and school-based testing, 62% of 2,593 participants. Mobile HTC uptake among key populations (men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs, female sex workers, and adolescents) ranged from 9% to 100% (among 41,110 participants across studies), with heterogeneity related to how testing was offered. Community-based approaches increased HTC uptake (relative risk [RR] 10.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.27–18.08), the proportion of first-time testers (RR 1.23, 95% CI 1.06–1.42), and the proportion of participants with CD4 counts above 350 cells/µl (RR 1.42, 95% CI 1.16–1.74), and obtained a lower positivity rate (RR 0.59, 95% CI 0.37–0.96), relative to facility-based approaches. 80% (95% CI 75%–85%) of 5,832 community-based HTC participants obtained a CD4 measurement following HIV diagnosis, and 73% (95% CI 61%–85%) of 527 community-based HTC participants initiated antiretroviral therapy following a CD4 measurement indicating eligibility. The data on linking participants without HIV to prevention services were limited. In low- and middle-income countries, the cost per person tested ranged from US$2–US$126. At the population level, community-based HTC increased HTC coverage (RR 7.07, 95% CI 3.52–14.22) and reduced HIV incidence (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.73–1.02), although the incidence reduction lacked statistical significance. No studies reported any harm arising as a result of having been tested. Conclusions Community-based HTC achieved high rates of HTC uptake, reached people with high CD4 counts, and linked people to care. It also obtained a lower HIV positivity rate relative to facility-based approaches. Further research is needed to further improve acceptability of community-based HTC for key populations. HIV programmes should offer community-based HTC linked to prevention and care, in addition to facility-based HTC, to support increased access to HIV prevention, care, and treatment. Review Registration International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews CRD42012002554 Please see later in the article for the Editors' Summary, Editors' Summary Background Three decades into the AIDS epidemic, about 34 million people (most living in resource-limited countries) are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Every year another 2.2 million people become infected with HIV, usually through unprotected sex with an infected partner, and about 1.7 million people die. Infection with HIV, which gradually destroys the CD4 lymphocytes and other immune system cells that provide protection from life-threatening infections, is usually diagnosed by looking for antibodies to HIV in the blood or saliva. Disease progression is subsequently monitored in HIV-positive individuals by counting the CD4 cells in their blood. Initiation of antiretroviral drug therapy—a combination of drugs that keeps HIV replication in check but that does not cure the infection—is recommended when an individual's CD4 count falls below 500 cells/µl of blood or when he or she develops signs of severe or advanced disease, such as unusual infections. Why Was This Study Done? As part of intensified efforts to eliminate HIV/AIDS, United Nations member states recently set several HIV-related targets to be achieved by 2015, including reduced transmission of HIV and increased delivery of antiretroviral therapy. These targets can only be achieved if there is a large expansion in HIV testing and counseling (HTC) and increased access to HIV prevention and care services. The World Health Organization currently recommends that everyone attending a healthcare facility in regions where there is a generalized HIV epidemic (defined as when 1% or more of the general population is HIV-positive) should be offered HTC. However, many people rarely visit healthcare facilities, and others refuse “facility-based” HTC because they fear stigmatization and discrimination. Thus, facility-based HTC alone is unlikely to be sufficient to enable national and global HIV targets to be reached. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the researchers evaluate the performance of community-based HTC approaches such as index testing (offering HTC to the sexual and injecting partners and household members of people with HIV), mobile testing (offering HTC through a service that visits shopping centers and other public facilities), and door-to-door testing (systematically offering HTC to homes in a catchment area). A systematic review uses predefined criteria to identify all the research on a given topic; meta-analysis combines the results of several studies. What Did the Researchers Do and Find? The researchers identified 117 studies (most undertaken in Africa and North America) involving 864,651 participants that evaluated community-based HTC approaches. Among these studies, the percentage of people offered community-based HTC who accepted it (HTC uptake) was 88% for index testing, 87% for self-testing, 80% for door-to-door testing, 67% for workplace testing, and 62% for school-based testing. Compared to facility-based approaches, community-based approaches increased the chances of an individual's CD4 count being above 350 cells/µl at diagnosis (an important observation because early diagnosis improves subsequent outcomes) but had a lower positivity rate, possibly because people with symptoms of HIV are more likely to visit healthcare facilities than healthy individuals. Importantly, 80% of participants in the community-based HTC studies had their CD4 count measured after HIV diagnosis, and 73% of the participants initiated antiretroviral therapy after their CD4 count fell below national eligibility criteria; both these observations suggest that community-based HTC successfully linked people to care. Finally, offering community-based HTC approaches in addition to facility-based approaches increased HTC coverage seven-fold at the population level. What Do These Findings Mean? These findings show that community-based HTC can achieve high HTC uptake rates and can reach HIV-positive individuals earlier, when they still have high CD4 counts. Importantly, they also suggest that the level of linkage to care of community-based HTC is similar to that of facility-based HTC. Although the lower positivity rate of community-based HTC approaches means that more people need to be tested with these approaches than with facility-based HTC to identify the same number of HIV-positive individuals, this downside of community-based HTC is likely to be offset by the earlier identification of HIV-positive individuals, which should improve life expectancy and reduce HIV transmission at the population level. Although further studies are needed to evaluate community-based HTC in other regions of the world, these findings suggest that offering community-based HTC in HIV programs in addition to facility-based testing should support the increased access to HIV prevention and care that is required for the intensification of HIV/AIDS elimination efforts. Additional Information Please access these websites via the online version of this summary at http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001496. The World Health Organization provides information on all aspects of HIV/AIDS, including information on counseling and testing (in several languages) Information is available from the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases on HIV infection and AIDS NAM/aidsmap provides basic information about HIV/AIDS and summaries of recent research findings on HIV care and treatment Information is available from Avert, an international AIDS charity, on many aspects of HIV/AIDS, including information on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, on HIV testing, and on HIV transmission and testing (in English and Spanish) The UK National Health Service Choices website provides information (including personal stories) about HIV and AIDS The World AIDS Day Report 2012 provides up-to-date information about the AIDS epidemic and efforts to halt it Patient stories about living with HIV/AIDS are available through Avert; the nonprofit website Healthtalkonline also provides personal stories about living with HIV, including stories about getting a diagnosis

As scale-up of antiretroviral therapy (ART) progresses in less-developed countries, the challenges of providing treatment to marginalised populations become of increasing concern. One such marginalised group is prisoners. While there is an emerging consensus that prevention and treatment is feasible and effective in prisons [1], experience of implementing comprehensive HIV/AIDS programmes that include antiretroviral therapy in resource-limited countries is limited. This article describes our experience of providing HIV prevention and treatment in two prisons in Thailand.

MSF discusses its response to tackling mental health problems in Aceh, Indonesia, and explores some of the main concerns in responding effectively to mental health problems in an emergency setting., MSF shares its observations from its programme in Aceh, Indonesia

The medical needs of many of the world's population go unmet. A new treaty on essential health R&D could provide a binding framework to redirect today's scientific expertise to priority needs.