Examining teen club attendance and viral load suppression among adolescents under differentiated HIV care in Malawi: a sub-optimal scenario.

Background: In Malawi, compared to adults, adolescents have higher rates of high HIV viremia and poorer antiretroviral therapy (ART) outcomes. The Ministry of Health, supported by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), implemented the provision of differentiated care clubs for adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV), called "teen clubs," to provide psychosocial support and an HIV care package to improve clinical outcomes. We evaluated teen club attendance and factors associated with unsuppressed viral load (VL) in ALHIV enrolled in these teen clubs.

Mortality Among Children Under Five Years of Age Living With HIV on Antiretroviral Treatment From HIV Case Surveillance Data, Malawi, 2022.

From Malawi's HIV case surveillance, we report clinical characteristics and outcomes of 4461 children living with HIV on antiretroviral treatment aged <5 years from January to December, 2022. Among the 4% of children living with HIV who died, 43% were asymptomatic, 35% had advanced or severe symptoms at the time of HIV diagnosis and 50% died within 6 months of receiving an HIV diagnosis.

Characteristics of TPT initiation and completion among people living with HIV.

Background: TB preventive treatment (TPT) reduces morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV (PLHIV). Despite the successful scale-up of TPT in Malawi, monitoring and evaluation have been suboptimal. We utilized the Malawi Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (MPHIA) 2020-2021 survey data to estimate TPT uptake and completion among self-reported HIV-positive persons.

Unlocking the potential: exploring the impact of dolutegravir treatment on body mass index improvement in underweight adults with HIV in Malawi.

Background: The introduction of dolutegravir (DTG) in treating HIV has shown enhanced efficacy and tolerability. This study examined changes in weight gain and body mass index (BMI) at 6- and 12-months after post-initiating antiretroviral therapy (ART), comparing people living with HIV (PLHIV) on DTG-based regimens with those on non-DTG-based regimens in Malawi.

Methods: Retrospective cohort data from 40 public health facilities in Malawi were used, including adult ART patients (aged ≥ 15 years) from January 2017 to March 2020.