EFFECT OF COMMUNITY TREATMENT INITIATIVE ON ANTIRETROVIRAL THERAPY UPTAKE AMONG LINKAGE - RESISTANT PLHIV IN NORTHERN NIGERIA.

Community Treatment Initiative (CTI) was developed in Northern Nigeria as an intervention to link a cohort of people living with HIV (PLHIV) who refused Antiretroviral treatment through conventional linkage method to care and treatment. CTI attempted to take treatment to PLHIVs at the community.A non-control interventional study that evaluated the proportion of linkage-resistant PLHIV linked to treatment through CTI in nine geographical areas. Data was collected between October - December 2015. Linkage-resistant PLHIV were identified and linked to treatment using CTI. We analyzed data using excel and SPSS 20.0, and used simple proportion to estimate linkage-resistant PLHIV who were eventually linked, retained in care, ultimately achieving virologic suppression (viral load <1000copies/ml). We used Chi square test and set level of significance at P- value less than 0.05.An estimated 541(20 percent) PLHIV (239 (44.2%) Male, 302 (55.8%) Female) seen from October-December 2015 refused linkage to treatment'. this was statistically significant at P Value <0.0001. 377 (69.7%) of the PLHIV who refused linkage to treatment eventually accepted treatment using an alternative community treatment method. This was significant at P-Value <0.0001. Six-month retention rate for PLHIV who accepted the alternative treatment method was 88.1% (332), this was significant at P value <0.0001. 78 percent of those retained in care attained virologic suppression.CTI improved linkage to care and treatment for a cohort of linkage-resistant PLHIV. A focus on this cohort of linkage resistant positive clients is required to achieve HIV epidemic control.