What is it about?
It is not easy for a number of people with HIV to continue anti-retroviral treatment once started. The issue is particularly important in sub-Saharan Africa; for instance, the KwaZulu-Natal Health Department in South Africa announced in May 2025 that over 100,000 people in the province, including teenagers born with the virus, had defaulted on treatment. The issue of treatment default is especially relevant in rural areas and must be tackled.
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Photo by Gizem Nikomedi on Unsplash
Why is it important?
The most serious possible consequence of antiretroviral treatment default is the progression to AIDS. Another important consequence of defaulting is the non-disclosure of prior therapy when people present to clinical facilities to restart antiretroviral treatment; this put them at risk of being prescribed an ineffective treatment to which they are now resistant.
Perspectives
It is vital to face and solve four main issues to reduce default on antiretroviral treatment: to fight the still widespread stigma; to provide proper patient-centred care; to take into account religious beliefs and improve cooperation and mutual understanding between religious leaders, doctors, and nurses; and to actively engage traditional healers, who provide regular services to nearly 80% of the black African population.
Professor Sandro Vento
Manash Kozybayev North Kazakhstan University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: HIV treatment default in sub-Saharan Africa: issues and possible solutions, Frontiers in Medicine, October 2025, Frontiers,
DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1688749.
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