Community and activists demand for tenofovir/emtricitabine or lamivudine/dolutegravir and routine viral load testing.

Purpose Of Review: Since the beginning of the HIV epidemic, informed communities have demanded and fought for access to life-saving treatment. The last several years have seen interesting developments in this area - particularly with respect to the switch to dolutegravir (DTG)-based regimens and scale-up of routine viral load testing (RVLT), and how these directly and indirectly impact issues of treatment optimization, HIV drug resistance, and sexual and reproductive health. In this review, we present recent advances in antiretroviral treatment and monitoring in the context of how treatment education and community demand for them.

Community-driven demand creation for the use of routine viral load testing: a model to scale up routine viral load testing.

Introduction: HIV treatment outcomes are dependent on the use of viral load measurement. Despite global and national guidelines recommending the use of routine viral load testing, these policies alone have not translated into widespread implementation or sufficiently increased access for people living with HIV (PLHIV). Civil society and communities of PLHIV recognize the need to close this gap and to enable the scale up of routine viral load testing.

Barriers to Reconstructive Surgery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study of 453 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Patients in Vietnam.

Background: Despite health system advances, residents of low- and middle-income countries continue to experience substantial barriers in accessing health care, particularly for specialized care such as plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Methods: A cross-sectional household survey of patients seeking surgical care for cleft lip and/or cleft palate was completed at five Operation Smile International mission sites throughout Vietnam (Hanoi, Nghe An, Hue, Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, and Bac Lieu) in November of 2014.

Results: Four hundred fifty-three households were surveyed.

The Medical Mission and Modern Core Competency Training: A 10-Year Follow-Up of Resident Experiences in Global Plastic Surgery.

Background: The emphasis on cultural competency for physicians and surgeons is increasingly important, as communication with both patients and other providers significantly affects individual and system-wide outcomes. International surgical training has been shown to improve leadership skills, cultural competency, and technical proficiency of participants in short-term follow-up. This study explores the long-term impact of international surgical mission experiences on developing participants' core competencies, professional outcomes, and commitment to global health.

Perceptions of foreign health aid in East Africa: an exploratory baseline study.

Background: There is insufficient literature on the perceptions of aid recipients with respect to foreign health aid administration and impact. This study sought to identify perceptions of foreign health aid among individuals, health care workers (HCWs), and policymakers in three East African countries: Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia. Each country receives substantial foreign aid and shares regional proximity.