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Southern Africa: the Highest Priority Region for HIV Prevention and Care Interventions

  • The Global Epidemic (SH Vermund, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current HIV/AIDS Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 04 June 2015

Abstract

The global HIV pandemic began to expand rapidly in southern Africa a decade later than was noted in central Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and North America. Multiple factors played a role in this rapid expansion which led Southern Africa to become the most heavily afflicted region for HIV/AIDS globally. In this issue of Current HIV/AIDS Reports, investigators with active research interests in the region have reviewed key elements of the causes of and responses to the epidemic. Putative causes of the high HIV prevalence in the region are discussed, including host and viral biology, human behavior, politics and policy, structural factors, health services, health workforce, migration, traditional healers’ role, and other issues. Regional epidemiological trends are described and forecasted. Issues related to the continuum of HIV care and treatment are highlighted. We hope that the reviews will prove useful to those policymakers, health care workers, and scientists who are striving to reduce the burden of HIV in the southern African region, as well as prove insightful for key issues of broader global relevance.

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Acknowledgments

Supported, in part, by these NIH grants: UM1AI068619 (HIV Prevention Trials Network) and D43TW001035 (Vanderbilt-CIDRZ AIDS International Training and Research Program).

Compliance with Ethics Guidelines

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Conflict of Interest

Sten H. Vermund, Emily K. Sheldon, and Mohsin Sidat declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Vanderbilt Institute of Global Health, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, 2525 West End Ave., Suite 750, Nashville, TN, 37203, USA

    Sten H. Vermund & Emily K. Sheldon

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA

    Sten H. Vermund

  3. Office of the Dean, School of Medicine, Universidade Eduardo Mondlane, Maputo, Mozambique

    Mohsin Sidat

Authors
  1. Sten H. Vermund
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  2. Emily K. Sheldon
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  3. Mohsin Sidat
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Correspondence to Sten H. Vermund.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on The Global Epidemic

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Vermund, S.H., Sheldon, E.K. & Sidat, M. Southern Africa: the Highest Priority Region for HIV Prevention and Care Interventions. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep 12, 191–195 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-015-0270-z

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