Tigray War and HIV Care Cascade Entry in Mekelle, Ethiopia

Was the Tigray War (November 2020 to November 2022) associated with changes in HIV diagnoses, linkage to care, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation in Mekelle, Ethiopia? In this cohort study using 20 years of routine clinical data from 7 health facilities in Mekelle and examining 13 478 HIV diagnoses, the war period was associated with reductions of approximately 29% to 32% in HIV diagnoses, linkages to care, and ART initiations, with the largest reductions among women, individuals aged 0 to 24 years, and patients treated at the single nongovernmental organization (NGO)–managed facility, where postwar values remained close to war-period levels. In this study, armed conflict was associated with severe, sustained, and inequitable disruptions to HIV care entry in Tigray, suggesting that conflict-sensitive HIV programming should specifically attend to women, youths, and NGO-supported facilities.

Corresponding Author: Hafte Kahsay Kebede, BPharm, MSc, Torrens University Australia, 88 Wakefield St, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia (maymeggeltana@gmail.com).

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