Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011 2012 2013

Details for Mechanism ID: 11943
Country/Region: Ghana
Year: 2010
Main Partner: John Snow, Inc
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: Private Contractor
Funding Agency: USAID
Total Funding: $1,720,000

The JHI/Focus Regions Health Project will expand the quality of health services for the overall USAID/Ghana Health, Population and Nutrition Office portfolio. It will support improving clinical HIV-related services and linkages with the MARP and PLHIV communities in five regions: Greater Accra, Easter, Central, Western and Ashanti. The project will cover 100 clinical sites.

Funding for Care: Adult Care and Support (HBHC): $100,000

STI clinic staff and personnel will be trained to be MARP-friendly and support linkages to the entire continuum of HIV-related care, including services like FP. PLHIV support group members will identify PLHIV in their communities and refer and/or escort them to appropriate care and treatment services.

Funding for Treatment: Adult Treatment (HTXS): $290,000

To improve quality of clinical care for PLHIV, USG Ghana will support clinic-based QA activities. To continue efforts reinforcing the Global Fund's investment in treatment, USAID will support NACP's institutionalization of QA processes for ART and other HIV/AIDS care and support services in health facilities in five regions. The QA method will integrate stigma reduction and infection control trainings and community-facility meetings on issues such as access to and acceptability of services. The QA process will occur at clinical facilities and involve staff at all levels. The process consists of collectively analyzing strengths and weaknesses of service delivery, defining solutions to identified key problems, developing a QA action plan and regularly monitoring the action plan's implementation. Selected PLHIV (in the previous year over 100) will be trained to support the work at clinical sites, acting as adherence counselors, among others. Previous experience shows PLHIV involvement has a remarkable impact on the quality of service and client satisfaction.

Funding for Testing: HIV Testing and Counseling (HVCT): $200,000

The JHI/Focus Regions Health Project will greatly increase activities supporting PMTCT and TC to facilitate a rapid expansion of the number of sites, ensuring quality of services and linking services with additional, especially RH services. Key in this expansion will be working with the Regional PMTCT Teams comprised of trainers and master-trainers, as well as site supervisors. In close cooperation with NACP, supervision protocols and practices will be reviewed and adapted to cater for the larger number of facilities and to ensure high quality standards. Master training curricula will be updated if necessary and supporting supervisory visits might be an emerging need. Clinic-community meetings will be held to improve communication, engaging MARP to ensure these activities also support the prevention goal and objectives.

Funding for Care: Pediatric Care and Support (PDCS): $130,000

Funding will be used to enhance quality assurance to support hospitals in developing care centers that can facilitate case identification through training on the special needs of pediatric patients. In select hospitals, support groups will be established for parents with HIV positive children to promote case seeking and treatment adherence.

Funding for Treatment: Pediatric Treatment (PDTX): $260,000

Regional supervision teams will use checklists and provide supportive mentoring to rapidly improve pediatric quality of care. The checklists outline a process of collectively analyzing strengths and weaknesses of service delivery, defining solutions to identified key problems, developing a QA action plan and regularly monitoring the action plan's implementation

Funding for Health Systems Strengthening (OHSS): $300,000

JHI/Focus Regions Health Project will support the National and Regional Health Authorities to handle critical health systems strengthening issues such as task shifting and linkages of services. They will carry out an assessment and develop guidelines for HIV-related task shifting among health staff. In addition, they will develop trainings and approaches for performance-based grants for health service delivery, and promote further integration and strengthening of HIV/RH/FP activities.

Funding for Biomedical Prevention: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT): $300,000

The central approach is supporting Regional PMTCT Teams' expansion of PMTCT services to the community level to improve the quality of and linkages between PMTCT services and other services. The program will support the provision of food for prescription to HIV positive pregnant women who qualify based on their BMI.

PMTCT support activities will result in a rapid expansion of sites, ensuring quality of and linkages between PMTCT and additional, especially RH, services. Key to this expansion will be working with the Regional PMTCT Teams comprised of trainers and master-trainers, as well as site supervisors. In close cooperation with the NACP, supervision protocols and practices will be reviewed and adapted to cater for the larger number of facilities and to ensure high quality standards. Master training curricula may be updated and supporting supervisory visits conducted as needed. Clinic-community meetings will be held to improve communication; these meetings will also be held with MARP. Clinics will be supported in ensuring that drugs, test kits and communication materials are available, and post-delivery service delivery (e.g., TC and breastfeeding) will be strengthened.

These activities will be supplemented with FY2008 PMTCT funding.

Funding for Care: TB/HIV (HVTB): $140,000

TB/HIV activities will be integrated through Regional HIV QA Teams' efforts to increase knowledge and skills during meetings, provide supervisory support to HIV/AIDS clinics, evaluate quality of care, introduce new tools and provide on-the-job coaching/mentoring to address gaps in performance. TB/HIV co-infections management updates will be provided at facilities including the use of the TB screening questionnaire for HIV positive clients and will emphasize provider-initiated TC.

Cross Cutting Budget Categories and Known Amounts Total: $500,000
Human Resources for Health $500,000