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Results from National HIV Survey Indicate HIV Treatment Progress in Côte d’Ivoire and Identify Gaps in Testing Services

May 26, 2021 | PHIA News

Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire, May 27, 2021Today, the Government of Côte D’Ivoire released results from the Côte D’Ivoire Population-based HIV Impact Assessment (CIPHIA) survey, sharing insights on the progress the nation has made towards HIV epidemic control.

Led by the Government of Côte d’Ivoire through the Institut National de la Statistique and ICAP at Columbia University, the CIPHIA survey assessed national HIV prevalence, incidence, viral load suppression, and level of achievement of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 targets.

Key findings from the survey revealed that 2.9 percent of adults (15-64 years) are living with HIV, approximately 382,000 in Côte D’Ivoire. The annual rate of new HIV infection among adults was 0.03 percent or about 4,000 new annual cases. Among children (0-14 years), the national HIV prevalence was 0.2 percent.

CIPHIA received support from the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Between August 2017 and March 2018, CIPHIA reached nearly 9,000 households to survey around 19,000 adults. The survey offered HIV counseling and testing with return of results and collected information about HIV care and treatment services.

In terms of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets, the survey found that 49.8 percent of adults knew their HIV status, 92.0 percent of those who knew their HIV status were on antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 73.7 percent of those on ART had achieved viral load suppression. The survey identified a significant number of gaps, especially among young people in both knowledge about HIV and delivery and uptake of HIV services.

“The CIPHIA was a landmark study which provided critical information for the government of Côte d’Ivoire, PEPFAR, and partners to improve programmatic decision-making,” said Shirish Balachandra, MD, CDC-Côte d’Ivoire Country Director. “Nationally representative, home-based surveys such as CIPHIA provide an invaluable complement to the program data we all follow routinely. As such, we look forward to similar exercises in the future, to best serve the people living with and affected by HIV in Côte d’Ivoire,” he added.

“I congratulate the Government of Cote d’Ivoire on the launch of the CIPHIA final report, which provides high quality estimates of how many people are acquiring new HIV infections, how many have existing infections and, of these, how many are aware of their HIV-positive status” said Jessica Justman, MD, Senior Technical Director, ICAP at Columbia University. “CIPHIA data will be very helpful in guiding efforts to address important gaps, especially in HIV testing among men and young people.”

Findings from the report will help the Government of Cote d’Ivoire improve HIV services across age groups, genders, and regions through using differentiated service models across the HIV care continuum. This includes reaching adults not frequenting healthcare facilities, strengthening testing strategies for at-risk groups, and tailoring interventions to test and treat young people.

The CIPHIA final report provides crucial information on the country’s HIV epidemic, including on the coverage and uptake of HIV services, and is a resource which can be leveraged to improve upon existing policies and programs to improve HIV and health outcomes in Côte D’Ivoire.

The CIPHIA final report is now available at: https://phia.icap.columbia.edu/countries/cote-divoire.


Contact Information:

Mark Weinberg
Public Affairs Officer
United State Embassy Côte d’Ivoire
Email: weinbergMT@state.gov

Hermann Brou, PhD
Project Director, CIPHIA
ICAP at Columbia University
Email: bha2106@cumc.columbia.edu

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