Background:In 2014, Nigeria accounted for 33% of all new childhood HIV infections that occurred among the 22 Global Plan priority countries where 80% of HIV-infected women reside. Even with a vertical HIV transmission rate of 27%, only 6% of infants born to HIV-infected women in Nigeria receive early infant diagnosis (EID). This article reports rates of antiretroviral prophylaxis, EID, and mother-to-child transmission in a congregation-based Healthy Beginning Initiative (HBI) designed to increase HIV testing among pregnant women in southeast Nigeria.Methods:This is a nested cohort study of HIV-exposed infants (HEI) within the HBI trial originally designed as a 2-arm cluster randomized trial. HIV-infected mothers and infants were followed between January 2013 and August 2014.Results:Across both arms of the study, 72 HIV-infected women delivered 69 live infants (1 set of twins) and 4 had miscarriages. Of the 69 live-born HEI, HIV status was known for 71% (49/69), 16% (11/69) died before sample collection, and 13% (9/69) were lost to follow-up. Complete information was available for 84% of HEI (58/69), of which 64% (37/58) received antiretroviral prophylaxis. Among the 49 infants tested for HIV, 88% (43/49) received EID within 2 months and 12% (6/49) received antibody testing after 18 months. The mother-to-child transmission rate was 8.2% (4/49).Conclusions:EID was higher and HIV transmission rate was lower among the HBI participants compared to reported rates in 2014. However, further progress is needed to achieve goals of elimination of infant HIV infection.

Background: HIV viral suppression is associated with health benefits for people living with HIV and a decreased risk of HIV transmission to others. The objective was to identify demographic, psychosocial, provider and neighborhood factors associated with sustained viral suppression among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. Methods: Data from adult men who have sex with men (MSM) enrolled in the Miami-Dade County Ryan White Program (RWP) before 2017 were used. Sustained viral suppression was defined as having an HIV viral load < 200 copies/ml in all viral load tests in 2017. Three-level (individual, medical case management site, and neighborhood) cross-classified mixed-effect models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for sustained viral suppression. Results: Of 3386 MSM, 90.8% were racial/ethnic minorities, and 84.4% achieved sustained viral suppression. The odds of achieving sustained viral suppression was lower for 18-24 and 25-34 year-old MSM compared with 35-49 year-old MSM, and for non-Latino Black MSM compared with White MSM. Those not enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, and those with current AIDS symptoms and a history of AIDS had lower odds of achieving sustained viral suppression. Psychosocial factors significantly associated with lower odds of sustained viral suppression included drug/alcohol use, mental health symptoms, homelessness, and transportation to appointment needs. Individuals with an HIV physician who serves a larger volume of RWP clients had greater odds of sustained viral suppression. Neighborhood factors were not associated with sustained viral suppression.(Continued on next page)

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BackgroundCommunity-based strategies to test for HIV, hepatitis B virus (HBV), and sickle cell disease (SCD) have expanded opportunities to increase the proportion of pregnant women who are aware of their diagnosis. In order to use this information to implement evidence-based interventions, these results have to be available to skilled health providers at the point of delivery. Most electronic health platforms are dependent on the availability of reliable Internet connectivity and, thus, have limited use in many rural and resource-limited settings.ObjectiveHere we describe our work on the development and deployment of an integrated mHealth platform that is able to capture medical information, including test results, and encrypt it into a patient-held smartcard that can be read at the point of delivery without the need for an Internet connection.MethodsWe engaged a team of implementation scientists, public health experts, and information technology specialists in a requirement-gathering process to inform the design of a prototype for a platform that uses smartcard technology, database deployment, and mobile phone app development. Key design decisions focused on usability, scalability, and security.ResultsWe successfully designed an integrated mHealth platform and deployed it in 4 health facilities across Benue State, Nigeria. We developed the Vitira Health platform to store test results of HIV, HBV, and SCD in a database, and securely encrypt the results on a Quick Response code embedded on a smartcard. We used a mobile app to read the contents on the smartcard without the need for Internet connectivity.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that it is possible to develop a patient-held smartcard and an mHealth platform that contains vital health information that can be read at the point of delivery using a mobile phone-based app without an Internet connection.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03027258; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03027258 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6owR2D0kE)

BackgroundPartner HIV testing during pregnancy has remained abysmally low in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Nigeria. Males rarely attend antenatal clinics with their female partners, limiting the few opportunities available to offer them HIV testing. In this study, we evaluated the scale-up of the Healthy Beginning Initiative (HBI), a community-driven evidenced-based intervention to increase HIV testing among pregnant women and their male partners. Our objectives were to determine the: (1) male partner participation rate; (2) prevalence of HIV among male partners of pregnant women; (3) factors associated with HIV positivity among male partners of HIV-positive pregnant women.MethodsWe reviewed program data of expectant parents enrolled in HBI in Benue State, north-central Nigeria. During HBI, trained lay health workers provided educational and counseling sessions, and offered free onsite integrated testing for HIV, hepatitis B virus and sickle cell genotype to pregnant women and their male partners who participated in incentivized, church-organized baby showers. Each participant completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire on demographics, lifestyle habits, and HIV testing history. Chi-square test was used to compare the characteristics of HIV-positive and HIV-negative male partners. Simple and multivariable logistic regression models were used to determine the association between participants' characteristics and HIV positivity among male partners of HIV-positive women.ResultsMale partner participation rate was 57% (5264/9231). Overall HIV prevalence was 6.1% (891/14495) with significantly higher rates in women (7.4%, 681/9231) compared to men (4.0%, 210/5264). Among the 681 HIV-positive women, 289 male partners received HIV testing; 37.7% (109/289) were found to be HIV-positive. In multivariate analysis, older age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 2.45, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27–4.72 for age 30–39 years vs. <30 years; aOR: 2.39, CI: 1.18–4.82 for age ≥40 years vs. <30 years) and self-reported daily alcohol intake (vs. never (aOR: 0.35, CI: 0.13–0.96)) were associated with HIV positivity in male partners of HIV-positive women.ConclusionThe community-based congregational approach is a potential strategy to increase male partner HIV testing towards achieving the UNAIDS goal of 90% HIV screening. Targeting male partners of HIV-positive women for screening may provide a higher yield of HIV diagnosis and the opportunity to engage known positives in care in this population.