Pediatric HIV Case Identification Across 22 PEPFAR-Supported Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic, October 2019–September 2020

What is already known about this topic? Identifying and linking children living with HIV to treatment is essential to reduce morbidity and mortality. What is added by this report? During the first 3 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, HIV testing and case identification among children and adolescents aged 1–14 years in 22 PEPFAR-supported countries decreased by 40.1% and 29.4%, respectively. Although outpatient testing decreased (21%), testing increased for other strategies, including mobile (38%), facility-based index (8%), and malnutrition (7%), suggesting these strategies can mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on pediatric case identification. What are the implications for public health practice? HIV testing programs can use programmatic, surveillance, and financial data to determine the optimal mix of testing strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic.