EpiC Project
Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC)
Title: HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services among key populations and people living with HIV in Makwanpur district
Period of Performance: October 1, 2023 – September 30, 2024
EpiC Nepal Project is supported by USAID/PEPFAR and technically assisted by FHI 360.
BACKGROUND
EpiC Nepal Regional Operational Plan 2023 (ROP23) or Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) will continue to focus on closing remaining gaps towards epidemic control particularly in enhancing viral load (VL) testing coverage, expediting treatment enrollment, improving quality and client centeredness of program and services, addressing interruption in treatment (IIT), mental health screening and referrals, advanced HIV diseases diagnosis and treatment, scaling up pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), recency testing and case-based surveillance through one national HIV information system (ONHIS) to ensure strategic case finding, treatment enrollment, and VL coverage, testing and suppression. EpiC Nepal will also coordinate and collaborate with government and non-government partners at local levels for system and capacity strengthening and sustainability.
GWP, as an EpiC Nepal implementing partner (IP), is implementing HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services among female sex workers (FSWs), clients of FSWs, men who have sex with men (MSM), male sex workers (MSWs), transgender people, other high-risk people not self-identified as key populations (KPs) or not disclosed their KP status, and people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their partners and children in Makwanpur district. Despite Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, GWP was able to adapt HIV program and services to mitigate COVID-19 impact and continue essential HIV prevention, testing and case finding, support in rapid initiation of treatment, adherence and retention, and VL testing services following precautionary, preventive and protective measures in FY24.
Building on the progress and experiences, of past years, GWP, in coordination with a sub-IP for Blue Diamond Society (BDS) – Friends Hetauda will strengthen its focus on: (1) optimizing VL testing and suppression; (2) optimizing antiretroviral therapy (ART) and treatment adherence and retention; (3) scaling up PrEP; (4) optimization of differentiated HIV prevention efforts through risk assessment and segmentation; (5) maximizing efficient HIV case detection through “targeted low-testing and high-yield” approaches including index testing, HIV self-testing (HIVST), enhanced peer outreach approach (EPOA) and online-to-offline (O2O) approaches; (6) scaling up of tuberculosis preventative therapy (TPT); (7) protecting the safety and security of KPs and priority populations (PPs) and program implementers including COVID-19 prevention and impact mitigation, gender-based violence (GBV) prevention and stigma and discrimination reduction; and (8) use of client satisfaction and community-led monitoring – LINK online feedback tool and responding to adverse events. GWP will continue using both online/virtual and in-person approaches and home/community delivery of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs as per the need.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this grant is to contribute in achieving and maintaining epidemic control by supporting GWP to plan, implement, monitor and optimise HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services that reduce HIV transmission among FSWs, clients of FSWs and other high-risk people and extend life of PLHIV in Makwanpur district.
VISUALS
| CME on Biosafety Security and Health Care Waste Management in Hetauda Hospital from EpiC Nepal |
| HIV testing camp on the occasion of World AIDS Day 2023. Province Health Directorator, Bagmati interacting with GWP team |
| Participation on Provincial Stakeholders Coordination Meeting organized by MoH, Bagmati |
| Monitoring visit to GWP from authorities of MoH and PHD of Bagmati Province |
| Candle light event on the occasion of WAD-2023 |
| Provincial coordination meeting organized from PHD, Bagmati Province |