1 December 2024 | Informations
COTE D'IVOIREMALISENEGALFighting HIV / AIDS
Since 2018, Solthis has been committed to introducing and dispensing HIV self-testing.
A major innovation in patient empowerment, HIV self-testing allows everyone to choose when, where and with whom they find out their HIV status.
Funded by Unitaid, with additional funding from Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the ATLAS project, implemented between 2018 and 2022 in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali and Senegal, initially focused on setting up a self-testing offer aimed at key populations and their partners and clients and partners of people living with HIV (PLHIV).
Self-testing kits were handed out to target groups at health centers and community sites, following awareness-raising sessions. To reach as many people as possible, the project developed the concept of secondary dispensation. The aim was for each target reached to be given additional kits to dispense to their peers far from health facilities.
By the end of the project, almost 400,000 self-testing kits had been distributed in the three countries.
Research carried out by IRD as part of the project has demonstrated the relevance of introducing self-testing as a complementary screening tool. The latest two articles, Potential population-level effects of HIV self-test distribution among key populations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal: a mathematical modelling analysis, published in the Lancet HIV, and Cost-effectiveness analysis of community-led HIV self-testing among key populations in Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, and Senegal, published in the Journal of the International AIDS Society, unquestionably demonstrate the epidemiological impact and cost-effectiveness of this screening strategy.
This confirms the relevance and impact of investing in self-testing. This strategy makes it possible to improve the achievement of the UNAIDS 3*95 target, particularly the first one, by significantly increasing the number of HIV-positive people who know their status, by reducing disparities in access to testing among key populations.
Building on this experience, Solthis and its experts were then called upon to provide technical assistance, financed by Expertise France – L’Initiative, to support national programs in Guinea, Niger and Chad in introducing a self-testing strategy.
In Côte d’Ivoire, the relevance of self-testing as a complementary method of HIV screening has led the National AIDS Control Program (PNLS) to develop and deploy a scale-up plan, aimed at making self-testing available in private pharmacies. With funding from the Fonds d’Innovation pour le Développement (FID), Solthis is supporting the PNLS in implementing this strategy. Oral self-tests are now available in pharmacies, at a cost ranging from 5,500 to 6,000 FCFA. To ensure quality dispensing and user support, Solthis trained 70 pharmacists in 2024 in Abidjan. In collaboration with the Conseil National de l’Ordre des Pharmaciens (CNOP), new training courses will be held in 2025, with the trained practitioners becoming trainers of their colleagues. They have fully embraced this approach, recognizing their role as local caregivers, and are able to offer it when patients ask about sexually transmitted infections or contraception, particularly in the case of the morning-after pill.
At the same time, a public-private partnership has been developed with the CNOP, wholesaler-distributors and pharmacies to supervise and promote the service offering. The first wave of promotion began on World AIDS Day, with TV and radio spots broadcast on national stations in Côte d’Ivoire.
The various projects and technical assistance implemented by Solthis with the support of Unitaid, Expertise France and the IDF since 2018 confirm the importance of the investment made in HIV self-testing as a complementary screening strategy.
