JIAS Viewpoint: Confronting the TB-HIV Syndemic in Adolescents and Young Adults: A Call to Action in a Time of Crisis
26 March 2026
To mark World TB Day, the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) released a new viewpoint, “Confronting the TB-HIV syndemic in adolescents and young adults: a call to action in a time of crisis”. It is authored by Leslie A. Enane, Adam Leonard, Lameck Diero, Olivier Marcy and Marcel Yotebieng.
Despite being both preventable and curable, TB remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among adolescents and young adults living with HIV. In 2024 alone, nearly 2 million adolescents and young adults developed TB, accounting for 18% of all people with TB globally. Yet, this population is still markedly underrepresented in TB research and programmatic priorities.
In this viewpoint, the authors outline key priorities to close persistent implementation gaps in adolescent and young adult TB and HIV care. They highlight the need to expand adolescent-friendly, integrated services, and call for increased investment in research and evidence-based programmes that meaningfully cater to and centre young people in the global response to TB and HIV.
As the authors call out: “We must advocate for funders and governments to invest in ending TB and HIV to secure a healthy future for young people.”
The Journal of the International AIDS Society is an open-access, peer-reviewed journal, which publishes HIV-related research from various disciplines and particularly encourages submissions in implementation sciences.
Source: JIAS
