World AIDS Day 2017

Evidence from 3ie-funded studies cited in WHO guidelines

On World AIDS Day, 3ie is pleased to announce that WHO’s new, revised guidelines on HIV self-testing cite high-quality evidence from 3ie-funded research. Of the five impact evaluations used to inform the guidelines, two evaluations of pilot interventions from Kenya were funded by 3ie grants.

These are the studies that informed WHO guidelines:

• Promoting male partner and couples HIV testing through secondary distribution HIV self-tests: a randomised trial
• Increasing male partner testing at antenatal care clinics in Kenya

UNITAID and the Global Fund expert panel approved the first HIV self-testing product on 2 March 2017. This will enable countries to operationalise the WHO guidelines and encourage more people to get tested. The WHO had released new supplemental guidelines on HIV self-testing on 29 November 2016 in which seven 3ie studies and papers by 3ie staff and grantees were referenced. Inclusion of 3ie-funded evidence in these supplementary guidelines are an example of the policy relevance of 3ie funded studies and use in influential global normative guidance.

HIV Self-Testing Thematic Window (TW2)

3ie has funded pilot interventions in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. Some of these studies have targeted key populations, including sex workers.. more

Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision Thematic Window (TW3)

In 2013, 3ie awarded seven grants to fund pilot interventions and their impact evaluations to generate robust evidence on what works for increasing the demand for voluntary medical male circumcision for HIV prevention in eastern and southern Africa. This was the first time 3ie funded pilot interventions alongside impact evaluations. It was also the first time that findings from a thematic window were compiled and featured in a peer-reviewed journal supplement. Results from all seven studies are highlighted in the supplement for the October 1, 2016 issue of the Journal of AIDS Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.

Click here to learn more about the window.
Access the final reports on VMMC in 3ie’s Impact Evaluation Report series. 

Integrated HIV services Thematic Window (TW7)

3ie has funded 5 pilot interventions and their impact evaluations on integrating HIV services with other health services in 3 Sub-Saharan African countries, including on integration of community maternal, newborn and child health services with prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, using community health workers to enhance retention in care, and improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Tanzania.. more

Funding cluster-randomised controlled trials in South Africa and Zambia

3ie is one of multiple funders for two large-scale cluster-randomised controlled trials (RCT) in South Africa and Zambia. As part of professional services rendered, 3ie is also advising on the technical quality of the impact evaluation of these trials. The RCT in South Africa compares the impact of immediate versus South African recommendations-guided antiretroviral therapy initiation on HIV incidence. The Treatment as Prevention (TasP) trial in Hlabisa sub-district, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa is co-funded by 3ie and the National Agency for AIDS Research in France. 

The second RCT on antiretroviral therapy to reduce HIV transmission (PopART) examines the the impact of a combination prevention package on population-level HIV incidence in Zambia and South Africa. The PopART study is part of the HIV Prevention Trials Network and is being conducted in 21 communities in the Western Cape of South Africa and in Zambia.

Innovating to cut HIV
This video explores how impact evaluations can test innovative ideas to increase demand generation for voluntary medical male circumcision.