The Guidance for People With HIV Displaced by Disasters, which was last updated in 2018, provides guidance to health care providers attending to the medical needs of adults and children with HIV who have been affected by disasters or displaced from disaster areas and who have not yet secured HIV care in the areas where they have relocated.

The newly revised guidance includes the following:

  1. Guidance on the management of people with HIV who are receiving one or more long-acting injectable antiretroviral drugs (e.g., cabotegravir, rilpivirine, ibalizumab, or lenacapavir) for the treatment of HIV.

  2. Discussion on the availability of electronic health records (e.g., through patient portals of healthcare institutions or pharmacies) where pertinent information may be found.

  3. Discussion noting that if a person with HIV is a client of a state or territorial AIDS Drug Assistance Program in their primary state of residence, the program should be contacted as soon as possible to identify prescription drug coverage while affected or displaced due to disaster.

  4. Comments noting that if a person with HIV is an active participant in a clinical trial, it is important to communicate with the study site to discuss specific measures to be taken while the person is displaced.

  5. Additional recommendations have been added for the following groups:
    1. Children
    2. Individuals who are pregnant or postpartum
    3. People with opioid use disorder

  6. Appendices A, B, and C have also been updated.

The Guidance for People With HIV Displaced by Disasters was collectively prepared by five panels of HIV experts from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS):

  1. Panel on Antiretroviral Guidelines for Adults and Adolescents

  2. Panel on Antiretroviral Therapy and Medical Management of Children Living With HIV

  3. Panel on Treatment of HIV During Pregnancy and Prevention of Perinatal Transmission

  4. Panel on Guidelines for the Prevention and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections in Adults and Adolescents With HIV

  5. Panel on Opportunistic Infections in Children With and Exposed to HIV

To view or download the guidelines, go to the Guidance for People With HIV Displaced by Disasters section of the Clinicalinfo website.

Clinicalinfo welcomes your feedback on the latest revisions to the Guidance for People With HIV Displaced by Disasters. Please send your comments with the subject line “Disaster Guidance” to HIVinfo@NIH.gov by October 25, 2024.

This blog post was published October 16, 2024, on HIV.gov.