The HIV epidemic in Brazil is concentrated in key populations, including sex workers, transgender women, and men who have sex with men (MSM). Combined prevention is the simultaneous application of biomedical, behavioral, and structural interventions aimed at reducing HIV transmission. In this context, the COMVIHVER Outreach Program seeks, through articulation between the university, health services, and organized civil society, to carry out integrated and multidisciplinary actions using biomedical and behavioral strategies for health education, testing, counseling, and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent HIV transmission in the Center-West region of the state of Minas Gerais. COMVIHVER Program activities are based on three fronts: (1) structuring and developing the HIV Prevention Outpatient Clinic, offering continued care to PrEP users; (2) outreach actions (“extramural”) for testing, counseling, and health education; and (3) annual Combined HIV Prevention Seminars aimed at health professionals and the academic community. Between March 2022 and June 2025, 433 users were registered at the HIV Prevention Outpatient Clinic, and 271 (62.6%) started PrEP. Among them, 19.9% were aged 25 years or younger; 87.7% were men, 8.1% cisgender women, and 4.2% transgender women; and 65.6% reported irregular condom use in the 6 months prior to starting PrEP. During this period, the team participated in 22 health education, testing, and counseling activities, held in public spaces in the municipality (n = 13), educational institutions (n = 3), private institutions and social clubs (n = 3), and large municipal events (n = 3; Pre-Carnival and Pride Parade). At the end of each program year, the Combined HIV Prevention Seminar was held, with participation from health professionals in the region (151 participants in 2022 and 105 in 2023) and university students (132 participants in 2024). The COMVIHVER Program has contributed significantly to addressing the HIV epidemic in the Center-West region of Minas Gerais, both through clinical/assistance actions and through health education, testing, and counseling interventions. The program aims to expand access to PrEP in the region through decentralization of care, seeking broader reach to key and priority populations that are harder to access.
Rocha et al. (Sun,) studied this question.