Sex workers in Uganda rally to end spread of HIV through condom distribution and sensitization

While Zimbabwe struggles with a dictatorship and an economic crisis, it has made strides towards achieving ambitious goals related to HIV/AIDS. This has been done through government investment in AIDS programs, intense outreach to youth and use of HIV positive teens as outreach workers, and the use of mobile testing sites.

Drop-in Centers (DiCEs) in Kenya provide specialized, stigma-free healthcare to marginalized populations at high risk for HIV. These centers offer one-stop HIV testing, treatment, counseling and other health services. DiCEs operate with flexible hours, specially-trained staff, and a peer-to-peer outreach model designed to reach people who face barriers accessing mainstream healthcare due to criminalization, discrimination and violence.

Boda boda motorcycle taxi riders have become frontline HIV health advocates through the LISTEN (Local Innovation Scaled Through Enterprise Network) Community of Practice. Trained in HIV self-testing, prevention methods and counseling, the riders hold monthly awareness days, operate two community testing stations, and distribute preventive items to the public. Since the initiative began in 2019, the association has reached approximately 10,000 people, referred 2,000 for antiretroviral treatment and tested around 400 people per month.

There are six countries that have reached "90–90–90" targets meaning, "90 percent of people with HIV in a country know their status, 90 percent of those diagnosed are on treatment, and 90 percent on treatment are virally suppressed." The solutions that have worked for these countries, like cross-sector partnerships and evidence-based prevention campaigns, are now models for regions still fighting to reduce rates.

South Africa is looking to tackle their HIV epidemic by changing the perception around preventative measures such as the PrEP prevention pill. Desmond Tutu Foundation’s PrEP program focuses on marketing the PrEP pill to those with a high risk for contracting HIV and so far has distributed the medication to 12,000 people.

Many health care facilities that supply needles don't have the proper training or experience to work with trans-identified people that are undergoing hormone therapy. To help address this gap in care, an education and advocacy nonprofit in Eugene, Oregon acts as a hub for the community's clean needle exchange needs.

A mentorship program in Kenya has proven effective at slashing rates of HIV transmission to infants and reducing stigma surrounding the illness. Mentor mothers offer support and education to HIV-positive pregnant women to ensure they stay on anti-retro viral drugs to avoid passing the virus to their unborn children and they work with them through the first 18 months of a child's life. Similar programs in other African countries have reached an estimated 1.4 million HIV-positive women.

Self-Cav is an AI chatbot that provides judgment-free, 24/7 information to young South Africans about HIV prevention, sexual health, and mental health via WhatsApp, allowing them to connect to real healthcare workers when needed. The chatbot is specifically designed to create demand for the HIV prevention medication PrEP among young women. Nearly 10,000 young people have used the chatbot platform, and 25% have been successfully linked to clinics or healthcare workers for PrEP, HIV testing, contraceptives, or mental health support.

The DIKSHA youth club looks after the children of sex workers when their mothers are working. The club teaches youth about their rights, bodily autonomy and empowers them to take control of their futures and avoid joining the sex trade themselves. The club started in 2001, and over the past two decades, it has helped prevent young girls from joining the sex trade, reduced rates of trafficking in the area and also helped reduce the stigma children of sex workers face.

The Wise Up Campaign works to increase HIV testing rates and reduce transmission of the disease through educational efforts and connecting with young people, a particularly high-risk group, to spread awareness and connect them with necessary resources. Since forming, the campaign has reached over 500,000 young people with HIV counseling and testing, as well as condom distribution, and has even trained several young volunteers to continue spreading the message to their peers.