Anneleen Kiekens, George Msema Bwire, Catherine Decouttere, Michael R Jordan, Ally Mangara, Idda H Mosha, Tobias Rinke de Wit, Raphael Zozimus Sangeda, Omary Swalehe, Nico Vandaele, Japhet Killewo, Anne-Mieke Vandamme
Summary box
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The AIDS and COVID-19 pandemics intersect on several levels.
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Both pandemics have previously been described as wicked problems and can be studied as complex adaptive systems.
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We recently designed a qualitative model of all known factors influencing HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) in sub-Saharan Africa and analyzed its complexity as a complex adaptive system. Our detailed systems map presented three main feedback loops driving the VIHDR.
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Visualizing both pandemics on a systems map confirms the urgency to address both simultaneously to mitigate a prolongation of the current COVID-19 pandemic and an increase in drug-resistant HIV.
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Also at the local level, a visualization of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response measures on the HRD system is valuable in understanding its system-wide impact when rapid public health action is needed.
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