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With a national prevalence of 0.9%, Burundi is close to achieving UNAIDS' 2025 targets. Despite this, different types of crises periodically disrupt its HIV health services. The community-based program EPIC measured the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Burundi in 2021. Specifically, it assessed ART interruption and associated factors since the beginning of the pandemic. The study questionnaire was administered to PLHIV in three cities between October and November 2021. Participants were recruited using convenience sampling. Logistic regression models helped identify factors associated with ART interruption. Of the 317 respondents, 37 (11.7%) reported interruption. The majority (79.2%) self-identified as belonging to key populations. Interruption was significantly associated with: fewer HIV medical follow-up visits (adjusted Odds Ratio, aOR = 7.80, p = 0.001) and forced HIV status disclosure (aOR = 4.10, p = 0.004). It was inversely associated with multi-month ART dispensing (aOR = 0.36, p = 0.017) since the beginning of the pandemic and the perception of not having been sufficiently informed by the HIV medical team about the risk of COVID-19 infection (aOR = 0.11, p < 0.001). Our results highlight the importance of multi-month ART dispensing, enhanced communication, and voluntary disclosure of one's HIV status in preventing ART interruption in times of crises in Burundi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Little is known about the adaption of community-based organizations (CBOs) during the COVID-19 crisis. This study aimed to study how HIV CBOs and their community health workers (CHWs) faced the COVID-19 outbreak. Semi-structured interviews (n = 53) were conducted among CHWs in Burundi, Mauritania, and Lebanon in 2021. A thematic content analysis was performed. Results showed that CBOs had succeeded in maintaining HIV services and integrated COVID-19 prevention and awareness in their activities. COVID-19 led to innovation in terms of HIV services (eg, telemedicine and online psychosocial support) and to opportunities to try new modalities of antiretroviral therapy dispensation. Field workers (a specific group among CHWs) were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 crisis and showed resilience in their adaptation to ensure the continuity of their activities. Considering the essential role of field workers during the crisis, their status and the sustainability of their activities should be clearly supported by health policies and programs., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.