Rapide évaluation de l’impact du COVID-19 sur les ripostes au VIH menées par la communauté dans la région de la CDAA

ARASA met en lumière les défis auxquels les populations clés sont confrontées dans la riposte au VIH, y compris ceux qui sont liés aux interruptions de l’accès à la réduction des risques pour les usagers de drogues. Pour en savoir plus, en anglais, veuillez lire les informations ci-dessous.

By AIDS and Rights Alliance for Southern Africa

After the first COVID-19 case was detected in the SADC region in early March 2020, countries imposed restrictions or lockdowns of differing intensity and duration as an urgent response in dealing with the health crisis posed by the pandemic. These measures disrupted social and economic life and access to health services, many of which were reconfigured to manage COVID-19 cases. In the SADC region, national responses to COVID-19 occurred in a context of systemically weak and under resourced health systems and high burden of HIV, and other chronic illnesses among the populace.

Community-led or outreach activities play a key role in mobilizing communities, combatting stigma, holding government accountable in policy and practice, and supporting health systems as well as have unique reach to populations who are disproportionately burdened by the HIV epidemic. Community-led HIV responses are the cornerstone to the HIV response in the region but little is known about the impacts of the COVID-19 measures on the gains the region has made in the provision of HIV prevention, care and treatment.

This brief presents the findings of a rapid assessment amongst 25 civil society organisations involved in the HIV response across the SADC region and provides recommendations for sustaining the community-led HIV response in the face of ongoing and future health crises.