NOTE: The following is taken from summaries released by PEPFAR on the PEPFAR Data Dashboard. They are incomplete summary paragraphs only and do not contain the full mechanism details. When the full narratives are released, we will update the mechanism pages accordingly.

URC uses an integrated country design, where improvement activities, research and evaluation (R&E), knowledge management (KM), scale-up, sustainability, and institutionalization are coordinated. URC’s key ASSIST strategy is to enable the flexible application of evidence-based improvement approaches within a given context to increase the likelihood of achieving the best possible outcomes while building the improvement competencies of host-country partners. URC will align evidence-based interventions in technical content areas – such as maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH), HIV/AIDS – with evidence-based approaches in improvement.

In FY2014/5 URC-ASSIST will receive funding to support QA/QI for HIV prevention, care and treatment programs at national and district levels, providing technical assistance to support implementation and scale-up of high quality HIV prevention, care and treatment services. Scale-up PMTCT, adult and pediatric HIV care and treatment services, improving adherence and retention in care, and the quality of services provided to PLHIV and their families will be prioritized. Working within the district framework, URC-ASSIST will focus on supporting development of integrated referral systems between different levels of care and different health programs. URC-ASSIST will play an integral role in developing capacity for and scaling up the implementation of Continuous Quality Improvement methodology. We will also build on previous work to strengthen the capacity of IP and MOH staff to use innovative QA approaches and problem-solving tools to maximize effectiveness and efficiency of PEPFAR investments in HIV programs. Target populations include: PLHIV, Healthcare providers, Program Managers, PEPFAR partners, NGOs/CBOs/volunteers.

Since COP2014, PEPFAR no longer produces narratives for every mechanism it funds. However, PEPFAR has now included performance targets or indicator information for each mechanism based on the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Reporting (MER) system. The MER guidance is available on PEPFAR's website https://www.pepfar.gov/reports/guidance/. Note that COP years 2014-2015 were under a previous version of the MER system and the indicators and definitions may have changed as of the new 2.0 guidance.