Leveraging HIV Care Infrastructures for Integrated Chronic Disease and Pandemic Management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Marie A. Brault, Sten H. Vermund, Muktar H. Aliyu, Saad B. Omer, Dave Clark and Donna Spiegelman
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Marie A. Brault: Center for Interdisciplinary Research in AIDS, Department of Social Behavioral Sciences, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Sten H. Vermund: Center for Interdisciplinary Research in AIDS, Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Muktar H. Aliyu: Department of Health Policy, Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
Saad B. Omer: Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Yale Institute for Global Health, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
Dave Clark: The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg 2194, South Africa
Donna Spiegelman: Center for Interdisciplinary Research in AIDS, Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 20, 1-14

Abstract: In Sub-Saharan Africa, communicable and other tropical infectious diseases remain major challenges apart from the continuing HIV/AIDS epidemic. Recognition and prevalence of non-communicable diseases have risen throughout Africa, and the reimagining of healthcare delivery is needed to support communities coping with not only with HIV, tuberculosis, and COVID-19, but also cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and depression. Many non-communicable diseases can be prevented or treated with low-cost interventions, yet implementation of such care has been limited in the region. In this Perspective piece, we argue that deployment of an integrated service delivery model is an urgent next step, propose a South African model for integration, and conclude with recommendations for next steps in research and implementation. An approach that is inspired by South African experience would build on existing HIV-focused infrastructure that has been developed by Ministries of Health with strong support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Response for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. An integrated chronic healthcare model holds promise to sustainably deliver infectious disease and non-communicable disease care. Integrated care will be especially critical as health systems seek to cope with the unprecedented challenges associated with COVID-19 and future pandemic threats.

Keywords: non-communicable diseases; HIV; infectious diseases; integrated care; health system strengthening; Sub-Saharan Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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