Moving the Global STI Response Forward: Insights from HSPN and other African Advocacy Partners

In 2023, AVAC and advocacy partners assessed the STI prevention landscape across East and Southern Africa. By documenting existing resources, gaps, and challenges, these analyses laid essential groundwork for developing an informed, strategic, collaborative advocacy agenda. Across the seven countries assessed, health professionals and key population informants alike reported lack of knowledge and inadequate testing for STIs. Low testing rates were attributed to a range of challenges including lack of awareness of the need for testing, limited supplies of test kits, testing services being inaccessible or unaffordable, and STI-related stigma. Newer, faster, and cheaper diagnostic tools could help address some of these problems, as could preventive or therapeutic STI vaccines. Several analyses also noted the need for more up-to-date, targeted STI data to inform national policies. 

“We remember when we started HIV advocacy, we were told that HIV is not an emergency. This is the same thing we are hearing, that STI is not an emergency. We want to say that STI is an emergency. And if we are not treating STI as an emergency, we will actually risk to be where HIV is now with STI.” Mandisa Dukashe, HIV Survivors and Partners Network, South Africa.

Your can read about this STI advocacy work here:  https://www.stiwatch.org/moving-the-sti-research-development-and-diagnostics-agenda-forward/