HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death in Malawi; of its 16.36 million inhabitants, an estimated one million people are living with HIV. While antiretroviral therapy (ART) has proven to reduce the risk of HIV transmission as well as HIV related morbidity and mortality, only an estimated 54% of HIV-infected individuals living in Malawi are currently on ART. The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA), a non-governmental organization, launched a follow-up coordinator program in January of 2014 as a means to provide individuals in need with individualized care through home-visits. The coordinators provide on-going support and case-management for HIV-infected and at-risk individuals in communities served by GAIA mobile health clinics in the rural Mulanje district. This study examined the effectiveness of these homevisits and the challenges that remain in the HIV treatment cascade in rural southern Malawi.

Mentor: Ellen Schell, RN, PhD