ADAMA, ETHIOPIA – The preliminary findings of the four-year THESA (Transmission of HIV in the Era of Scaling up Access to Antiretroviral Therapy in Ethiopia) project were officially unveiled in Adama.
Led by the Armauer Hansen Research Institute (AHRI), in collaboration with Lund University and the Oromia Health Bureau, the research project has brought forward critical scientific data and fresh insights into the structural gaps, viral dynamics, and diagnostics shaping HIV prevention and care.
Launched in 2022 [GC], the study specifically targeted the hotspot urban corridors of Adama, Mojo, Bishoftu and Welenchiti. 
Four preliminary findings
The THESA project highlighted four preliminary findings that are expected to influence regional and national HIV interventions.
- Men facing treatment gaps: While women remain a highly vulnerable group, the data revealed that men are experiencing severe bottlenecks in care. Men were found to face a higher likelihood of delayed treatment initiation, lower rates of viral load suppression, and a higher tendency to drop out from HIV care.
- Persistent viral cluster: Utilizing advanced genomic sequencing, researchers proved that a specific cluster has been circulating and spreading across various communities since 1988 underscoring long-standing networks of HIV transmission in the population.
- High rates of recent infections: Among newly enrolled patients in the study, 6.8% were confirmed to have acquired the virus likely within the past six months. This recent infection was common among youth aged 15–24 years and key priority populations.
- IP-10 a potential candidate biomarker for triaging viremia: On the innovations front, the project successfully validated IP-10 as an effective laboratory biomarker that can rapidly and easily identify patients with unsuppressed viral loads (high levels of the virus in the blood). Transforming this alternative into a rapid point-of-care tool could accelerate clinical monitoring in low-resource settings.
The closing and dissemination event was attended by senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Health, leadership from the Oromia Health Bureau and its agencies and Health care workers from different level health care facilities, and AHRI scientists and researchers under THESA project.
“The four-years journey of the THESA project has clearly exposed the major gaps we still face in our national HIV prevention and control efforts,” stated Dr. Alemseged Abdissa, Deputy Director General of AHRI, during the closing address. “We must work together with mutual trust and collaboration. As a country, we need to embrace knowledge-driven changes, systematically address our institutional gaps, and mobilize our resources in a way that secures sustainable, long-term health benefits for our people.”
The milestone event concluded with the presentation of certificates of recognition to the dedicated health institutions and researchers who drove the project to its successful completion.
