A supplement of the Journal of the International AIDS Society entitled ‘Transitioning adolescents through paediatric into adult HIV care: Where are we now?’ has been launched. It has been guest edited by Annette H. Sohn (TREAT Asia/amfAR), Rachel Vreeman (Indiana University School Medicine) and Ali Judd (University College London), and organized by the International AIDS Society’s Collaborative Initiative on Paediatric HIV Education and Research (CIPHER).
While new HIV infections and deaths are decreasing across all other age groups they continue to rise among adolescents, a group urgently in need of focus in the overall global HIV response. In 2015, an estimated 1.76 million adolescents between 10-19 years old were living with HIV, an increase of 28 per cent since 2005. In this context, successful transition from paediatric into adult care services is of critical importance if we are to achieve the 90-90-90 targets for children and adolescents.
This timely supplement underscores the issues and challenges faced by adolescents living with HIV around transitioning to adult HIV care. The articles describe current knowledge and represent expert opinion on where research, implementation, and policy efforts need to be focused to improve the quality of adolescent and young adult HIV care.
Taken together, the articles provide a comprehensive and updated review of the transition situation globally, from estimates of the size of the adolescent epidemic to mental health issues, and from HIV treatment and care services to policy responses. The scope of the special issue is wide-ranging, providing data from across the world, including sub-Saharan Africa, Europe, Asia and the Pacific, and the Caribbean and Central and South America.
To access the special issue, please click here.
For inquiries or further information, please contact: editorial@jiasociety.org or diddie.schaaf@iasociety.org.
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