Beyond Zero convened its Best Practice Dissemination Workshop from November 26 to 28, 2024 at Hemmingway’s Hotel, East London. The workshop, themed #Beyondimplementation, showcased the impactful work that Beyond Zero’s programmes and partners are doing in advancing HIV prevention and care across South Africa.  Over the course of 2.5 days, a diverse group of stakeholders came together in their collective mission to share insights, highlight successful strategies, and re-energise approaches to combating HIV, especially among key and vulnerable populations.

The workshop was graced by the Eastern Cape’s MEC for Health, Ms. Ntadokazi Capa; who emphasised the importance of this workshop as one of the build-up activities to the World AIDS Day Commemoration and highlighted South Africa’s progress in combating HIV/AIDS. She noted, “For too long, HIV/AIDS was seen as a death sentence. Thanks to the great work we’ve done as a country, HIV/AIDS is now seen as just another chronic illness. Our efforts, particularly with ARV treatment, have transformed lives. Partnerships like the one with Beyond Zero are invaluable to this journey, and we will continue to support and collaborate.”

Skills and Capacity Building workshops were conducted to enhance knowledge and skills of implementors in various programmatic indicators.  Beyond Zero’s CEO, Dr. Gaga underscored the purpose of the workshop, saying: “This workshop is for implementors who are bringing HIV programmes into communities. We aimed to showcase their work beyond numbers and give them a platform to share best practices, challenges, and research questions. It’s about building capacity for implementors to ask critical questions and engage meaningfully in research spaces.”

Amongst delegates, speakers and moderators were Beyond Zero’s sub-recipients, civil society organisations, civil society form, programme beneficiaries, Human Science Research Council (HSRC), Eastern Cape Department of Health, representatives of UNAIDS, University of Fort Hare, University of North-West University of Witwatersrand, University of KZN, health professionals, and other Global Fund Primary Recipients.

Dr. Zungu from the HSRC emphasised the importance of focusing SBCC models on young people, stating, “The AYP is the future, current prevalence shows increase with AGYW.”

The workshop featured sessions made emphasis on issues that one way or the other have impact on HIV care and treatment such as the intersection of HIV and cancer, mental health, and pandemic preparedness and climate change. Sessions resonated strongly with attendees, offering valuable insights into health intersections.

As the workshop ended, participants engaged in discussions about community mobilisation and emerging health challenges whilst highlights were made on developing strategies for improving implementation science,

In closing, Dr. Gaga celebrated the workshop’s evolution, stating, “From the first workshop in 2016 with a handful of oral abstracts to this year’s 200 submissions, this growth reflects our commitment to advancing implementation science. For those who submitted abstracts, whether accepted or not, we see your effort and commit to building skills for the future.”