Community-based initiatives addressing the health impact of climate change on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review

Background Extreme weather events have posed significant threat to public health globally. These health impacts are particularly severe in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), which bears a disproportionate burden of climate change impact. In SSA, climate-related events exacerbate existing vulnerabilities by disrupting health systems, livelihoods, food security, access to care, treatment adherence; and increasing the risk of population displacement. Community-based initiatives are increasingly recognised as critical strategies for mitigating the health impacts from climate change and extreme weather events. However there is limited evidence that summarises strategies used to mitigate health impacts from climate change that are specific to HIV and sub-Saharan Africa. Objective The objective of this scoping review is to systematically map the evidence on community-based initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change on HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa. Methods: A search will be conducted in Medline, Embase , African Index Medicus and African Journal Online . This will be supplemented by grey literature search from relevant institutions and non-governmental organisations involved in climate change and health in Africa. Screening will be undertaken by two independent reviewers and data will be extracted by one reviewer and independently checked by another, with disagreements resolved by discussion. Extracted data will be mapped to summarise the range and characteristics of community-based initiatives addressing the impacts of climate change on HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.