INTEREST Conference

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Get to know the early-career African researchers who submitted the highest-scoring scientific abstracts to this year's INTEREST conference Patane Shilabye & Clark Brianwong explain why they study what they do + what’s next for them: bit.ly/4kY9Mzj

#ThrowbackThursday Did you catch any of our presentations at @INTERESTconf 2025? If not, no worries! Explore all the impactful posters from the Pangaea Zimbabwe team here: bit.ly/45kLGu8 Want them straight to your inbox? Sign up here: bit.ly/43c8nOw

⁦@INTERESTconf⁩ 2025 was more exciting than ever. Always Looking forward to next!

🎉Patane Shilabye (#SouthAfrica) & Clark Joshua Brianwong (#Uganda)🎉are the winners of the Joep Lange & Charles Boucher Awards for the highest-scoring abstracts by early-career African scientists! Selected from more than 1,700 abstracts, Patane and Clark presented their abstracts at the 19th INTEREST conference: 🔹“Pulse Wave Velocity as Cardiovascular Disease Risk Predictor in People Living with HIV” 🔹“Leveraging eCBSS Data for Geospatial Mapping of Hotspots and Optimizing the Integrated TB Case Finding (CAST+) Intervention in Eastern Uganda” After their presentations and responses to questions during the discussion period were rated, Clark and Patane came out tops. Congratulations!

Conference Closure #INTEREST2025 absolutely amazing

Art and Health #INTEREST2025

2️⃣Factors Associated with Recent Physical Violence among Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in #Namibia Adolescents aged 15–19 years were at higher risk of experiencing violence compared to younger children aged 10–14. Children with disabilities reported lower levels of abuse, possibly due to reduced physical interaction or challenges in reporting. Additionally, children with caregivers living with HIV were less likely to report experiences of violence.

The results identify five major themes that prevent adolescents & young people (AYP) from accessing sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and HIV services: 1️⃣Socio-cultural and religious influences – This includes healthcare worker stigma, myths and misconceptions about SRH, and reliance on religious beliefs or traditional medicine. 2️⃣Interpersonal-level barriers – Threats of violence from partners deter young women from seeking care. 3️⃣Knowledge and awareness deficits – Many AYP don’t know where to find youth-friendly services or lack comprehensive SRH information. 4️⃣Structural challenges – These involve long distances to facilities, transport issues, service delays, and communication barriers (especially for those with hearing impairments). 5️⃣Behavioral and lifestyle factors – Alcohol and substance use contribute to risky sexual behavior and hinder the ability to negotiate safe sex.

Mini-Oral Abstract Presentations VI, chaired by Dr Wendy Spearman (@UCT_news) & Ndeshi Nashandi 1️⃣Using Photovoice as a Community-Based Participatory Research Tool to Inform Intervention Development for Young People’s Improved Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Services in Southern Zambia 🔹Godfrey Muchanga (#Zambia) 2️⃣Factors Associated with Recent Physical Violence among Orphaned and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in Namibia: Findings from the Project HOPE Namibia OVC Program 🔹Hadrian Mangwana (#Namibia)

We are at #INTEREST2025, Africa’s premier HIV science conference taking place from 13–16 May in Windhoek, Namibia. Our staff, Clark Joshua Brianwong, shared about how we are leveraging electronic case-based surveillance system (eCBSS) data for geospatial mapping of TB hotspots in Eastern Uganda - a game-changing approach to optimizing the @MinofHealthUG CAST+ (Community Awareness, Screening, Testing, and Treatment) intervention. @DKiragga, @TexasChildrens

Take-home messages: 1️⃣CAB (cabotegravir) shows strong efficacy, but virological failure often results in cross-resistance to other integrase inhibitors (INI). 2️⃣Low drug levels are frequently observed at virological failure, although they are not an independent predictor. 3️⃣Viral fitness advantages may drive the emergence of resistance, particularly in subtype A6. 4️⃣The increase in incidence and spread of subtype A6 infections in Europe is concerning. 5️⃣While CAB resistance cases remain low, using CAB for both treatment and prevention may increase future risk, underscoring the need for systematic case reporting. ~ Dr Annemarie Wensing

Data from the ATHENA cohort, which included 585 individuals on injectable therapy, showed a high virologic failure rate of 9%. Notably, more than 105 people initiated on cabotegravir/rilpivirine (CAB/RPV) did not meet eligibility criteria due to prior drug resistance or previous exposure. ~ Dr Annemarie Wensing

Session 1️⃣6️⃣– Intersection of #HIV Prevention and Treatment, chaired by Dr Nyaradzo Mgodi (@UZCTRC) & Prof Nicholas Paton (@NUSingapore) Speaker 1: Dr Linda-Gail Bekker (@DTHF_SA | @UCT_news), “Improving Access to New Prevention Technologies” Speaker 2: Dr @FrancoisVenter3 (@ezintsha), “Update on Long-Acting #ART for #PrEP & Treatment” Speaker 3: Dr Annemarie Wensing (@UMCU_Intl), “Failure of Long-Acting Agents”

"There's tons of work ahead, particularly when our biggest donor suddenly pulled the rug from underneath us. It's an exciting time, but it's a very complicated time – and it's going to be a tragic time if we don't take the new innovations and technologies into the rightful place, simply because we don't have the funding or the drive or the creativity that we require at this political moment." ~ @FrancoisVenter3

Thank you Dr.Linda Gail Bekker for such an inspiring presentation today on the importance of the prevention push needed to protect the treatment pull #INTEREST2025