Evidence for an enhanced HIV/AIDS policy and care in Cameroon: proceedings of the second Cameroon HIV Research Forum (CAM-HERO) 2021.

To attain the HIV 95-95-95 goals by 2030 in Cameroon, high quality research to inform policy and patient care is of utmost importance. In the context of limited workforce and resources, collaborations, sharing of locally-adapted strategies and other field experience, leveraging on existing and innovative platforms would facilitate a coordinated and optimal AIDS response at country level. The second edition of the Cameroon HIV Research Forum (CAM-HERO) conference took place both physically and virtually on November 18 and 19, 2021 in Kribi, on the theme "Research for Policy and Care". This scientific event brought together Cameroonian HIV/AIDS researchers, experienced clinicians and regulatory authorities to foster i) the dissemination of research findings and facilitate translation into policy, ii) operational research collaboration, iii) identification of new research areas, and iv) capacity building. To achieve the set objectives during this event, a consensus on research priorities for accelerating the achievement of three 95 HIV goals in Cameroon were summarized; meeting sessions included 31 abstract presentations, 13 discussions, and presentations on various aspects of HIV research including ethics, administrative procedures and needs for capacity building; training of young scientists on guidelines for research proposal development toward ethical clearance was done; and a platform for discussion between researchers and regulatory authorities was conducted around the design and setting-up of a national HIV/AIDS research agenda. CAM-HERO 2021 brought together HIV researchers, experts and junior scientists around major programmatic challenges, evidence to translate into practice, research priorities on HIV/AIDS. Collaborations were reinforced, capacities were strengthened, and footprints were established towards a consensus on a national HIV/AIDS research agenda.

Outcomes of the first meeting of the CAMEROON HIV RESEARCH FORUM (CAM-HERO).

Research is a vital component for the development of any country. In Cameroon, HIV Operational research is rapidly growing, however, it faces some intractable problems which can only be solved through an urgent, strategic, efficient, and collaborative approach involving key stakeholders. The Kribi meeting (09 and 10th December 2020) brought together under the auspices of the Ministry of Public Health leading HIV research organisations and connected HIV researchers and actors from different sectors. These actors disseminated and discussed recent research findings and worked out mechanisms to advance HIV research development, developed new ideas and identified priority research areas, with emphasis on translational research. The official launching and consolidation of Cam-HERO was a critical step and it is hoped that these synergistic efforts will catalyse attainment of the 95-95-95 goals in Cameroon.