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Leaving No One Behind: The Prevention and Treatment of HIV...
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Leaving No One Behind: The Prevention and Treatment of HIV Among Key and Vulnerable Populations

A special issue of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease (ISSN 2414-6366). This special issue belongs to the section "Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2026 | Viewed by 947

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Enos Moyo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Public Health Medicine, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban 4041, South Africa
Interests: infectious diseases; HIV/AIDS; maternal and child health; cost-effectiveness analysis
Dr. Tafadzwa Dzinamarira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. School of Health Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
2. ICAP, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
Interests: COVID-19; public health response; public health policy; health systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on HIV prevention and treatment among key and vulnerable populations (KVPs).

Despite a 60% reduction in HIV incidence since its peak in 1995, key and vulnerable populations continue to be a critical demographic for HIV epidemic control.  In 2023, 1.3 million people were newly infected with HIV. Among the new infections, 44% were women and girls. Furthermore, although HIV prevalence has reduced to less than one percent among the adult population globally, key and vulnerable people have higher prevalences. Key and vulnerable people most affected by HIV include adolescent girls and young women aged 15-25 years in eastern and southern Africa, gay men and other men who have sex with men, sex workers, people who inject drugs, transgender people, and people in prisons. The uptake and adherence to HIV treatment among KVPs is also lower than that of the general population.

There is a need to enhance the evidence base on strategies to improve the utilization of HIV prevention methods among these KVPs to reach epidemic control. Additionally, strategies are required to improve the uptake of and adherence to HIV treatment among them. To gather insights into the challenges and opportunities within HIV prevention and treatment of KVPs, we welcome articles addressing knowledge, perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of KVPs concerning HIV prevention methods and treatment, as well as strategies and policies to improve them. We also welcome articles focusing on new HIV prevention and treatment drugs. Authors are encouraged to contribute opinion articles, qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods primary research, as well as scoping reviews, literature reviews, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, meta-synthesis, and editorials on these topics.

Dr. Enos Moyo
Dr. Tafadzwa Dzinamarira
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • HIV
  • prevention
  • treatment
  • key and vulnerable populations
  • adolescent girls and young women aged 15-25 years in eastern and southern Africa
  • men who have sex with men
  • sex workers

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

22 pages, 2811 KB  
Article
Profiling HIV Risk and Determined, Resilient, Empowered AIDS-Free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) Program Reach Among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Namibia: Secondary Analysis of Population and Program Data
by Enos Moyo, Endalkachew Melese, Hadrian Mangwana, Simon Takawira, Rosalia Indongo, Bernadette Harases, Perseverance Moyo, Ntombizodwa Makurira Nyoni, Kopano Robert and Tafadzwa Dzinamarira
Trop. Med. Infect. Dis. 2025, 10(9), 240; https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed10090240 - 27 Aug 2025
Viewed by 744
Abstract
Background: Namibia is experiencing a generalized HIV epidemic, with 7.5% of the population living with HIV. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 account for 28.6% of new infections annually. Various factors increase AGYW’s vulnerability to HIV. To address this, Project HOPE [...] Read more.
Background: Namibia is experiencing a generalized HIV epidemic, with 7.5% of the population living with HIV. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 account for 28.6% of new infections annually. Various factors increase AGYW’s vulnerability to HIV. To address this, Project HOPE Namibia (PHN)-led consortium implemented the PEPFAR/USAID-funded DREAMS project in Khomas, Oshikoto, and Zambezi regions from 2018 to 2023. This study estimated the AGYW population most in need of HIV prevention and assessed geographic and age-specific gaps to improve program effectiveness and efficiency. Methods: This secondary data analysis utilized the Namibia Population-Based HIV Impact Assessment (NamPHIA) 2017, the Namibia census, and service data from the DREAMS project, which includes entry points for recruitment, screening, and enrolment. We used Python to conduct unadjusted and adjusted Poisson regression and UpSet plots for data visualization. Results: Analysis of NamPHIA data revealed low HIV prevalence in 10–14-year-olds, with only Oshikoto showing a detectable rate of 2.76%, mostly attributed to perinatal HIV transmission. Of the 12 DREAMS eligibility criteria, three could be mapped to 10–14-year-olds, while all except sexually transmitted infections could be mapped for 15–19 and 20–24-year-olds. Nationally, 17.3% of 10–14-year-old AGYW, 48.0% of 15–19-year-olds, and 50% of 20–24-year-olds met at least one DREAMS eligibility criterion. Among 15–19-year-olds, a history of pregnancy, no/irregular condom use, and out-of-school status were positively associated with HIV status. For 20–24-year-olds, transactional sex was positively associated with HIV status. Overall, 62% of screened individuals were eligible, and 62% of eligible individuals enrolled. PHN screened 134% of the estimated 37,965 10–14-year-olds, 95% of the estimated 35,585 15–19-year-olds, and 57% of the 24,011 20–24-year-olds residing in the five districts where DREAMS was implemented. Conclusions: We recommend the refinement of the DREAMS eligibility criteria, particularly for AGYW 10–14, to better identify and engage those at risk of HIV acquisition through sexual transmission. For 15–19-year-olds, PHN efforts should interrogate geographic variability in entry points for recruitment and screening practices. PHN should enhance the recruitment and engagement of AGYW 20–24, with a particular focus on those engaged in transactional sex. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leaving No One Behind: The Prevention and Treatment of HIV Among Key and Vulnerable Populations)
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