Embedding mental health and SRHR in HIV–UHC strategies
Global HIV prevention efforts are off track, threatening decades of progress due to persistent funding shortfalls, political instability, and systemic disruptions across multiple African contexts. Evidence from diverse regional analyses indicates that achieving sustainable epidemic control requires a transition to nationally led, system-integrated, and community-anchored prevention strategies. Despite these recognised imperatives, the integration of mental health services and comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) within HIV programmes guided by universal health coverage (UHC) principles remains scarce. This Comment advocates embedding mental health and SRHR into UHC-aligned HIV strategies, prioritising adolescent girls, young women, and sex workers to strengthen health-system resilience, optimise financing during transitional periods, and advance African-led equity.