Community health workers’ commitment to HIV/AIDS control in Africa

Africa is responsible for almost two-thirds of the world's total number of new Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases, with South Africa having the highest number of cases worldwide. Some complementary strategies have been implemented to support the roles of healthcare professionals in the management of HIV in Africa. In this review, community health workers (CHWs) in four sub-regions of Africa - Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Africa - were evaluated for their contributions to the overall management of HIV. Data reported were obtained from various databases such as PubMed, ResearchGate, and Google Scholar, and websites of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Search terms were community health worker, HIV management, and HIV treatment, plus each of the subregions/some specific countries in those regions, using the Boolean operators AND and OR. Only studies published in the English language between January 2015 and December 2023, in peer-reviewed journals, were considered. 22 studies met the eligibility criteria. All the African subregions studied have benefited immensely from the activities of CHWs, with up to 20% reduction in the rate of HIV incidence reported in some communities who benefited from them. The activities of CHWs include door-to-door awareness, data capturing, community outreach, enrolling people in treatment programs, radio health education broadcasts, and community health worker-mediated educational and psychosocial support tailored to each individual's needs. CHWs also offered people living with HIV material support and the tools necessary to be adherent to their treatment. These activities have resulted in better and longer-lasting implementation of HIV strategies, reduction in HIV rates, better adherence to treatment, and increased awareness about prevention and control, especially in rural communities in all the African subregions studied.