How the COVID-19 Pandemic Alters the Landscapes of the HIV and Tuberculosis Epidemics in South Africa: A Case Study and Future Directions

Daniel Eike; Maximilia Hogrebe; Dagem Kifle; Miriam Tregilgas; Anshu Uppal; Alexandra Calmy

doi:10.3390/epidemiologia3020023

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Alters the Landscapes of the HIV and Tuberculosis Epidemics in South Africa: A Case Study and Future Directions

Epidemiologia (Basel). 2022 Jun 6;3(2):297-313. doi: 10.3390/epidemiologia3020023.

Authors

Daniel Eike¹, Maximilia Hogrebe¹, Dagem Kifle¹, Miriam Tregilgas¹, Anshu Uppal¹, Alexandra Calmy²

Affiliations

¹ Global Studies Institute, University of Geneva, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.
² HIV/AIDS Unit, Division of Infectious Disease, Geneva University Hospitals, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland.

Abstract

South Africa has long grappled with one of the highest HIV and tuberculosis (TB) burdens in the world. The COVID-19 pandemic poses challenges to the country's already strained health system. Measures to contain COVID-19 virus may have further hampered the containment of HIV and TB in the country and further widened the socioeconomic gap. South Africa's handling of the pandemic has led to disruptions to HIV/TB testing and treatment. It has, furthermore, influenced social risk factors associated with increased transmission of these diseases. Individuals living with HIV and/or TB also face higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 disease. In this case study, we contextualize the HIV/TB landscape in South Africa and analyze the direct and indirect impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country's efforts to combat these ongoing epidemics.

Keywords: COVID-19; HIV; South Africa; health access; health disparity; inequality; tuberculosis.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.