HIV

Using the Best Science to Save Lives

While progress is being made, the HIV epidemic continues to have a devastating impact on many lives. In 2024, there were 1.3 million new HIV infections reported, with half of those occurring in sub-Saharan Africa.

Jhpiego has strong solutions to improve people’s health so they can thrive, and we’re bringing them close to the communities hardest hit by these diseases. Jhpiego works with ministries of health, defense force health systems, national AIDS programs, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, professional associations and faith- and community-based organizations to implement HIV testing, prevention, and care and treatment programs.

Our Approaches

Testing

Testing is key to epidemic control because it is the only way a person can know if they have HIV. Since 2001, Jhpiego has supported HIV programs in 24 countries, providing nearly 20 million people with testing services, and linking more than 626,000 people living with HIV to care and treatment services.

  • Jhpiego supports the UNAIDS 90-90-90 goals through partnerships with local governments and communities. Together, we deliver high-quality HIV testing services that link HIV care and treatment to people living with HIV.

  • We use evidence-based and innovative approaches to reach target populations, including integrated and provider-initiated testing services, mobile testing, workplace testing, partner notification, couples testing, and HIV self-testing.

  • We design programs that expand access to HIV testing services and uptake among hard-to-reach populations, including key populations, men, adolescent girls and young women, children, and partners of people living with HIV through health facility and community-based testing services.

  • We help governments pursue emerging testing approaches, including HIV self-testing and partner notification services.

Care and treatment

If someone tests positive for HIV, we help link them to care and treatment. These essential services include clinical care, diagnosis and management of opportunistic infections, viral load testing, and community-based psychosocial support.

  • We support the adoption of the World Health Organization’s policy to “Treat All” patients who test HIV-positive, regardless of their viral load, to keep people healthier and to reduce the risk of transmission.

  • We promote patient-centered solutions such as community treatment and multi-month dispensing for stable clients.

  • We help clients adhere to their treatment through peer support groups and intensive support for those with high viral loads (> 1,000 copies/mL).

  • If their current treatment isn’t working, we work with clients to help them find the medication regimen that is right for them.

Prevention

Jhpiego is dedicated to advancing prevention interventions to help reduce the spread of HIV, making effective options accessible to more individuals. Through innovative solutions we help improve health outcomes and ensure the safety and quality of HIV prevention services.

  • We champion biomedical prevention interventions and work to bring them to more people. These range from voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), a safe, minor procedure that reduces the risk of female-to-male HIV transmission by 70%, to oral and long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) options that can be more than 90% effective in preventing HIV.

  • HIV can be transmitted to babies of women who are HIV positive, before birth, during birth, and when they are breastfeeding. However, with effective interventions that focus on prevention of mother-to-child transmission, fewer than 5 percent of babies born to HIV-positive women will contract the virus.

  • Since 2003, Jhpiego has emerged as one of the few international organizations with the knowledge and experience to support, strengthen, and scale up VMMC services while ensuring safety and quality. Since 2009, more than 6 million men and boys have accessed VMMC through Jhpiego-supported services across 12 countries. We are now using our expertise from VMMC to bring PrEP to more people.

  • Jhpiego was one of the first international organizations to introduce and scale up oral Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) services for HIV prevention. Jhpiego has led the way in elevating PrEP as a high-impact intervention, taking careful steps to ensure that these services are safe and of high quality and effectively transitioning PrEP from research to widespread practice. As part of this process, we build systems from the ground up through policy and training manuals, supply chains, and safety surveillance systems. Building on our experience with oral PrEP, we are now well-prepared to scale up new long-acting PrEP options, leveraging our established infrastructure and insights to maximize their impact in communities.

Program Experts

Elizabeth Irungu

Regional Technical Advisor for PrEP and Implementation Science

Private, Convenient, and Effective: Tailoring HIV Prevention with ePrEP

For thousands in Kenya, an innovative ePrEP model is making this a reality, delivering stigma-free and accessible HIV prevention that meets people where they are.

Since 2001, Jhpiego has supported HIV testing service programs in 24 countries, providing nearly 20 million people with testing services, and linking nearly 627,000 people living with HIV to care and treatment services.