Artificial Intelligence as a Tool to Enhance HIV-AIDS Programme Management

The HIV prevalence in South Africa is the highest in the world. In 2017 12.6% of the population 7.06 million people were HIV positive⁶. Almost two thirds of this cohort are on ARVS contributing to South Africa's ARV programme-making it the largest in the world². Other sectors within the health industry have also contributed to addressing the burden of disease by developing their own sector specific HIV-AIDS programmes. Over time, these programmes have grown from strength to strength and have incorporated components to driver better performance within these programmes. A novel concept in health technology is that of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, which is redefining the health industry and is fast becoming very popular locally and globally. AI has not been fully integrated into the HIV-AIDS field to date. This paper explores the artificial intelligence landscape in the HIV-AIDS arena and assesses if AI can enhance HIV-AIDS programme management.