Sustaining PMTCT gains amid declining funding: male partner engagement as a low-cost, high-impact strategy to prevent incident maternal HIV infection and support triple elimination goals in Malawi

Joe Nkhonjera, MPH, BSc (Nursing and Midwifery), is a public health professional based in Malawi with over twelve years of experience spanning national policy leadership, Grants management and district-level program implementation. He currently serves as Team Lead for the Ministry of Health-CDC Cooperative Agreement and as Principal Disease Prevention Officer for Malawi's national PMTCT program, in the Ministry of Health Department of HIV, STI and Viral Hepatitis, where he leads grant applications for CDC grants and participates in Global Fund grant applications and implementation, policy coordination, and national guideline development for the country's HIV response. He previously spent over eight years in district-level leadership, including as Senior Nursing and Midwifery Officer and Hospital Matron in Phalombe District, and also served as District Coordinator for the PMTCT program, where he led the district's PMTCT program to become among the best performing in Malawi. Joe has presented research at international forums including IAS, ICASA, and INTEREST, and was selected as one of 23 Young Nurse Leaders globally for the Nursing Now campaign at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva