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Need for Reinforced Strategies to Support Delivery of HIV Clinical Services During the Ebola Outbreak in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2015

M. Linda Mobula*
Affiliation:
Technical Leadership and Research Division, Office of HIV/AIDS, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC AAAS S&T Fellow, Washington, DC, and Division of General Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Charlene A. Brown
Affiliation:
Technical Leadership and Research Division, Office of HIV/AIDS, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC
Gilbert Burnham
Affiliation:
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Benjamin R. Phelps
Affiliation:
Technical Leadership and Research Division, Office of HIV/AIDS, United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to M. Linda Mobula, MD, MPH, 2100 Crystal Drive, CP3 9036, Arlington, VA 22202 (e-mail: mmobula@usaid.gov).

Abstract

The Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in West Africa has been declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization. The Ebola outbreak has led to the disruption of already fragile but essential health services and drug distribution systems; HIV clinical services in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea were particularly affected. Targeted approaches are necessary to protect the continuity of HIV treatment for people living with HIV and should be integrated within the broader Ebola response; this will save lives, prevent drug resistance, and decrease the likelihood of HIV transmission. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:522–526)

Type
Policy Analysis
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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