USAID-supported HIV research features in international journal

THE United States Government, acting through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research, the Foundation for AIDS Research, and the National Institutes of Health, announces the release of a special issue of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes (JAIDS) titled “HIV Risks and Vulnerabilities among Key Populations in West and Central Africa—Evidence to Inform HIV Prevention, Treatment, and Care.”

     Over 6.5 million people live with HIV in West and Central Africa, a region that spans 24 countries and has a population of over 350 million people.  This amounts to an average HIV prevalence rate of 4.9 percent in the general population.     

      However, in West Africa the prevalence is significantly higher among key populations—a term for populations known to be at greater risk of infection—including female sex workers and their clients, men who have sex with men, and people who inject drugs.  Until now, limited data has been an obstacle to fully understanding the dynamics of HIV transmission related to these high-risk populations in the region and the kind of programming needed to address this.