The interview below was originally conducted in French, and has been translated and abridged. The final write up was reviewed and approved by Dr. Doumbia.
Imagine a medicine that you must take every day to stay healthy. Now imagine that your stock of this medicine is about to run out. To get more, you have to travel many miles and come in contact with many people who may be carriers of a new threat to your health. This is an over-simplified, yet very real scenario for many people living with chronic illnesses during the coronavirus pandemic.
Coronavirus is having a ripple effect on healthcare delivery across the world. In response, health systems (and social systems) make adjustments—i.e. redirecting resources, implementing quarantine and stay-at-home measures—and these adjustments too, have subsequent impacts on health and health care delivery.
In Côte d’Ivoire, where HAI has collaborated with the Ministry of Health since 2007, about half a million people are estimated to be living with HIV. Adherence to effective antiretroviral treatment (ART) can increase immune system functioning among PLHIV and reduce the risk of coronavirus infection. Unfortunately, at the moment this at-risk population is facing the hypothetical posed at the beginning of this post in a very real way. How can I stay adherent to ART, while avoiding coronavirus exposure and co-infection?

Dr. Yacouba Doumbia is a Senior Technical Advisor in HAI’s Côte d’Ivoire office. Under HAI’s CDC/PEPFAR-funded Project LINKS, Dr. Doumbia is responsible for implementing, monitoring, and improving HIV prevention activities in collaboration with Regional and District Health Departments across 6 regions of northern and eastern Côte d’Ivoire. Dr. Doumbia and his team are also helping to roll-out adjusted guidelines for HIV prevention, care, and treatment in Côte d’Ivoire during the coronavirus pandemic.

Dr. Yacouba Doumbia is a Senior Technical Advisor in HAI’s Côte d’Ivoire office. Under HAI’s CDC/PEPFAR-funded Project LINKS, Dr. Doumbia is responsible for implementing, monitoring, and improving HIV prevention activities in collaboration with Regional and District Health Departments across 6 regions of northern and eastern Côte d’Ivoire. Dr. Doumbia and his team are also helping to roll-out adjusted guidelines for HIV prevention, care, and treatment in Côte d’Ivoire during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since 2015, Project LINKS has supported Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Health to identify and treat more than 40,000 PLHIV. HAI’s longstanding relationship with district and regional health departments and existing partnerships with active community-based organizations have facilitated a proactive and coordinated response to combatting fear and stigma and adjusting systems of care to ensure continuity of HIV service delivery during the active coronavirus pandemic.
‡As of the publication of this interview, the number of reported COVID-19 cases in Côte d’Ivoire has reached 1,602, and is growing daily. Dr. Doumbia is joined by the whole HAI-Côte d’Ivoire team, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Côte d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene, and all our community-based organization partners in the response efforts.
Project LINKS is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $35 million with 100% funded by CDC/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CDC/HHS, or the U.S. Government.