At this year’s Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI), held in Denver from 22–25 February 2026, Ciheb-Kenya contributed to global discussions on advancing the HIV response through smarter, more targeted approaches.

Ciheb-Kenya was represented by Dr. Peter Kyalo, Program Director, PACT Imara, who delivered an oral presentation on the use of machine learning to improve HIV risk identification. The presentation highlighted how predictive approaches can help programs better reach individuals most likely to benefit from testing services. As countries move closer to epidemic control, the emphasis is increasingly shifting from scale to precision.

In addition to the oral presentation, Ciheb-Kenya also shared broader programmatic learning through poster presentations, contributing further to scientific dialogue on data-driven approaches to strengthening HIV programming.

Across both the oral and poster presentations, a consistent message emerged: routinely collected program data has value beyond reporting. When appropriately analyzed, it can directly inform programmatic decision-making and improve efficiency in service delivery.

This includes the potential to improve HIV positivity yield, reduce unnecessary testing, and optimize the use of limited resources through predictive and more targeted approaches.

Importantly, these insights do not remain at the level of research. They are already being integrated into ongoing programming, demonstrating how data-driven innovation can move beyond theory into practical application within routine service delivery.

Ciheb-Kenya’s participation at CROI reaffirmed its contribution not only to implementation, but also to global evidence generation and innovation in public health practice.