Global Health
HIV Implementation Science
In the early 2000s it was uncertain if the provision of antiretroviral therapy in resource limited settings such as Southern Africa was feasible. [9] Reddi's research documented that antiretroviral therapy is effective despite the challenges of a resource limited setting. [10] [11] These data were important in providing implementation experience for HIV scale-up initiatives advanced by PEPFAR and The Global Fund. [12] [13]
U.S. HIV Global Health Policy
In May 2009, the Obama administration's introduced a global health initiative that de-prioritized global HIV funding by prioritizing funding for maternal and child health programs. [14] [15] Ezekiel Emanuel, the initiative’s architect and a special advisor to President Obama on health policy, argued that PEPFAR “is not the best use of international health funding” and “fails to address many of the developing world’s most serious health issues.” [16] [17] Reddi challenged Dr. Emanuel's position on PEPFAR by arguing maternal and child health need not be framed in opposition to PEPFAR. [18] [19] [20] Reddi and Archbishop Desmond Tutu alongside other HIV advocates rebutted Emanuel's arguments that resulted in the restoration of $366 million for antiretroviral scale-up to Uganda in 2010. [21] [22] The opinion pieces in The Huffington Post , The New York Times and The Washington Post facilitated the movement to drive the Obama administrations' reversal on global HIV funding. [23] [24]
HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Access
The AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) launched a campaign against the Food and Drug Administration review of Truvada for use as a HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) drug. [25] Reddi resigned from the Board of Directors of AHF over their opposition to HIV PrEP writing: "AHF’s media campaign against FDA review of PrEP is myopic, blinded by its determination to derail a promising new medication." [26] The resulting advocacy was validated by the 2015 decision by the World Health Organization to recommended that people at substantial risk of HIV infection should be offered tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)-based oral PrEP as an additional HIV prevention option. [27]
Reddi also advanced digital health tools to enhance patient access to PrEP including the development and launch of Gilead Sciences' PrEP Hub, a digital platform aimed at improving access and public health resources to HIV prevention. [28] [29]
Human capital contracts
To address healthcare worker shortages in resource-limited settings, Reddi proposed using human capital contracts inspired by Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences winner Milton Friedman. [30] [31] Under this model, an investor—such as a donor nation, foundation, or global health initiative—would fund a student’s medical training in exchange for 10 years of service in government or NGO clinics within their home country. Medical licenses would be tied to this commitment, and a multilateral agreement could curb migration during the service period to address human capital flight or “brain drain.” [32] [33]
HIV Test & Treat Implementation Science
Reddi led a major HIV Test & Treat initiative in Shinyanga, Tanzania, partnering with Gilead Sciences, The Vatican, the Tanzanian government, and NGOs like Doctors with Africa CUAMM and Joep Lange's Amsterdam Institute of Global Health. [6] [34] The project reached over 300,000 people through decentralized outreach, linking those testing positive to care. Between May 2017 and June 2019, 255,329 HIV tests were conducted, with a positivity rate of 1.2%. [35]
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