THE HIV/AIDS PREVENTION, CARE AND TREATMENT SUPPORT TO THE DRC ARMED FORCES
Abstract
Population Services International and its local partner Association de Santé Familiale (PSI/ASF), in partnership with the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), are pleased to submit the following concept paper to the Department of Defense HIV/AIDS Prevention Program (DHAPP) under the Funding Opportunity Announcement N00244-17-S-FO02 for continued collaboration with the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The proposed activities build on PSI/ASF’s previous experiences working with the military and other uniformed services within the DRC, and complements other President s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programs currently being implemented in the DRC. In the DRC, HIV prevalence among the general population was estimated at 1.1%, while among military personnel the prevalence is estimated at 3.5% among military men and 2.9% among military women. Military personnel and their partners are particularly vulnerable to HIV infection due to mobility (relocation of military to war zones and new assignments); concurrent sexual partnerships (73.1% (men and women combined) report regular non-marital partners, 54.5% report non-commercial casual partners, and 68.9% report sex with sex workers); and low use of condoms with casual partners (39.4%). Military orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) face additional challenges, including limited access to education, marginalization, and poverty, increasing their risk of HIV infection. The proposed project will contribute to the goal of reducing the number and incidence of new HIV infections and other sexually transmitted diseases among members of FARDC, their families, and the civilian communities served by the FARDC health services. PSI/ASF will use data- and evidence-driven targeted approaches, based on its work under the two previous Department of Defense (DoD)-funded projects, and hot spot mapping from the FARDC’s 2014 survey, to strategically target areas with high HIV prevalence and transmission, consequently maximizing impact. The project will use innovative, targeted strategies to increase the HIV testing coverage and HIV case finding, to reach previously undiagnosed HIV-positive military personnel and their dependents at earlier stages of HIV disease, link them to care and treatment, initiate treatment and retain them in care. The project will expand HTS activities according to the new MER 2.0 modality and ensure that 100% of all identified HIV-positive clients are linked to treatment according to the DRC national guidelines. The project will work closely with the FARDC to encourage ongoing efforts to promote task shifting and task sharing and apply options of differentiated care. The team will build on its work under the previous two phases to achieve the following objectives: • Increase HIV testing coverage, intensify case finding, increase direct linkage to treatment for all identified HIV-positive patients to 100%, increase antiretroviral therapy (ART) coverage, and improve retention in care of PLHIV to achieve the 90-90-90 goals among the military personnel and their dependents; • Improve the capacity of all HIV laboratory services in collaboration with FARDC clinical and laboratory staff; • Increase scale up of VL testing services; • Support implementation of a FARDC-owned clinical monitoring system; • Target populations in “hotspot” locations with the full prevention package as described under PP Prev in the MER 2.0. indicator guidance; and • Provide a package of high-quality OVC services.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 13, 2017
- Source ID
- N002441710040
Entities
People
- Nestor Ankiba