CDC’s “Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report”: Status of HIV Case-Based Surveillance Implementation — 39 U.S. PEPFAR-Supported Countries, May-July 2019
Joshua R. Holmes of the CDC’s Division of Global HIV and TB at the Center for Global Health and colleagues examined HIV case-based surveillance implementation in PEPFAR countries. According to the study, “Among 39 surveyed countries supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, 20 had implemented case-based surveillance, 15 were planning implementation, and four were not planning implementation. Challenges for most countries, particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa, include need for unique identifiers to link data across systems, supportive national policy environments, and data security standards. … Enhanced efforts are needed to address policy barriers and gaps in technical infrastructure to implement comprehensive HIV case-based surveillance that can inform national response to the HIV epidemic” (11/29).