The fight against COVID-19 in sub-saharan Africa-A threat to the continuous management of HIV patients: Application of the action areas of the ottawa charter for health promotion

Abstract

The Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) was detected in December 2019 in the Hubei Province of China. Also known as COVID-19, the outbreak was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which is the region hardest hit by HIV, is also highly affected by COVID-19. The fight against COVID-19 in SSA might threaten the continuous management of persons living with HIV (PLHIV). This commentary uses the five action areas of the Ottawa charter for health promotion to address the issue. If the issues raised in this commentary are not addressed quickly by SSA governments, every single link of the supply chain in the HIV response will be disrupted. This disruption might result in more stock-outs, shortages and a lack of access to ART in the months ahead. The SSA governments must ensure that HIV treatment adherence is not compromised owing to a shift of focus to the fight against COVID-19. They should ensure that everyone on HIV treatment gets an adequate supply of antiretroviral therapy (ART).