Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2007 2008 2009

Details for Mechanism ID: 4502
Country/Region: South Africa
Year: 2009
Main Partner: Columbia University
Main Partner Program: Mailman School of Public Health
Organizational Type: University
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $4,446,000

Funding for Treatment: Adult Treatment (HTXS): $4,446,000

ACTIVITY UNCHANGED FROM FY 2008

Columbia University implements a comprehensive HIV care and treatment program in South Africa that is

funded with Track 1 central funding, as well as South Africa COP funding. The activities do not differ across

the funding mechanisms, and this entry is thus a repeat of the South Africa COP entry. All targets are

reflected in the South Africa COP entry.

SUMMARY:

Activities are carried out in FY 2008 to support implementation and expansion of comprehensive HIV

treatment and care primarily through human resources and infrastructure development, technical assistance

and training and community education and support, primarily in public sector facilities in the Eastern Cape,

Free State (new geographic focus area) and KwaZulu-Natal. Columbia University will support these

activities by using funds for human capacity development, local organization capacity building, and strategic

information. The degree of activity effort will vary in each site, but all emphasis areas will be addressed in all

sites. The target population will include infants, children and youth, men and women (including pregnant

women) and people living with HIV (PLHIV). Columbia will continue to support the recruitment of doctors,

nurses, pharmacists and pharmacist assistants.

BACKGROUND:

Columbia University (Columbia), with PEPFAR funds, began supporting comprehensive HIV care and

treatment activities in FY 2004. Health facilities were initially identified in the Eastern Cape and in FY 2006,

due to new boundary demarcations and additional PEPFAR funds, Columbia started providing similar

assistance in KwaZulu-Natal. In FY 2006, in response to provincial HIV care and treatment priorities,

Columbia began strengthening the down referral of services from hospitals to primary health clinics. This

resulted in a total of 36 health facilities receiving technical and financial support from Columbia, including

public hospitals, community health centers, primary health clinics and a non-governmental wellness center.

In FY 2007 an additional two health facilities in KwaZulu-Natal (East Griqualand Usher Memorial Hospital

and the Kokstad Community Clinic) received technical and financial assistance for HIV care and treatment

services.

ACTIVITIES AND EXPECTED RESULTS:

All activities are in line with South African government (SAG) policies and protocols, and activities will be

undertaken to create sustainable comprehensive HIV care and treatment programs, and primarily include

four programmatic areas:

ACTIVITY 1: Support Recruitment and Placement of Health Staff

Since FY 2005 Columbia has been involved in the recruitment of staff to support the HIV comprehensive

program at health facilities. High staff attrition rates of Department of Health (DOH) recruited personnel

have been a challenge in guaranteeing a steady enrolment of eligible PLHIV into care and treatment.

Columbia will continue to support the recruitment of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and pharmacist assistants

through existing partnerships with University of Fort Hare, Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality,

Ikhwezi Lokusa Wellness Center, University of KwaZulu-Natal Cato Manor, and the Foundation for

Professional Development. Columbia supported the recruitment and placement of approximately 15

doctors, 30 nurses (registered and enrolled nurses), 4 pharmacists and 7 pharmacist assistants and 15

trainee pharmacist assistants. These health personnel provide direct patient care in the hospitals and clinics

including: clinical assessment, screening for tuberculosis (TB) and antiretroviral treatment (ART) eligibility,

opportunistic infections (OI) diagnosis and management, and offering OI prophylaxis and treatment, and

ART. The health providers also develop patient treatment plans as part of the multidisciplinary team in the

health facility; and assist patients to access relevant SAG social grants.

ACTIVITY 2: Training and Clinical Mentoring

Columbia has established a partnership with the Foundation for Professional Development to provide ARV

didactic training in all supported health facilities. A second partnership with Stellenbosch University assists

the rural health facility staff (St. Patrick's, Holy Cross and Rietvlei hospitals and their referral clinics), with

the management of patients on ART by conducting case discussions on a monthly basis. Columbia has

clinical advisors as part of its South African team consisting of nurse mentors, and medical officers who

provide day-to-day clinical guidance on the management of patients on ART.

ACTIVITY 3: Strengthen ART Down and Up Referral Linkages Between Hospitals and Primary Healthcare

Clinics

In the early phases of the ART program, all patients are evaluated and initiated on therapy at hospital level.

Within three to six months of providing support to the hospital-based ART program, designated referral

clinics are integrated into the services. In the rural health facilities, a small team of health providers, usually

comprising of a medical officer, professional nurse and peer educator, travel to the primary healthcare

clinics (PHC) to screen patients for OIs and to determine suitability for ART. This approach has enabled

expansion of ART services at PHC level and has resulted in improving and increasing access to treatment.

The team of health providers has also developed capacity of the onsite health providers and the goal is to

have the onsite DOH health staff eventually provide the full package of HIV care and treatment services. In

FY 2008, Columbia will continue to support linkages with the public clinics and the development of a more

sustainable system of service provision.

ACTIVITY 4: HIV Care and Treatment Information System

Columbia will continue to support the implementation of a provincial information system that captures

Activity Narrative: information regarding HIV palliative care and ART. Activities in FY 2008 will include:

a. Continued implementation of facility paper-based ART registers that capture both adult and pediatric ART

indicators.

b. In collaboration with the Eastern Cape Department of Health (ECDOH) and other partners in the Eastern

Cape, support the development and implementation of standardized individualized patient records for use at

health facilities that incorporates information on client ART use.

c. Implement an ART software system. In FY 2007, Columbia in partnership with Africare (a PEPFAR

partner) and Health Information System Program (HISP) customized and developed ART software that

captures and collates HIV and AIDS program data. This ART database is being adapted for data entry, and

installation is expected before end of FY 2007. The system is being piloted at three health facilities in East

London: Frere, Cecilia Makiwane and Duncan Day Village hospitals. In FY 2008, after assessing results

from the pilot sites, Columbia will engage the ECDOH in discussion on how the module could be added into

the existing district Health Information System to efficiently generate reports on the HIV program, and

thereafter implemented at more ART services outlets.

In addition, in 2007 Columbia begun a new partnership with Disease Management System (DMS) - a

patient-centered health management information system (HMIS) that operates at the patient level of care to

assist health care professionals initially at 4 identified Columbia supported health facilities in Port Elizabeth

(Livingstone, KwaZakhele Day Hospital, Motherwell clinic and Chatty clinic) to provide comprehensive care

management of people living with HIV, as well as providing management information for relevant

stakeholders. In FY 2008, with lessons learned from the implementation of this system, Columbia in

partnership with ECDOH proposes to extend the use of this information system in all HIV and ART service

delivery points, where feasible. In addition, by FY 2008, Columbia will support the implementation of similar

program activities (as specified above) in newly identified health facilities in the Free State (to be

determined).

By providing support for ARV services in the public sector and two NGO sites, Columbia's activities will

contribute to the realization of the PEPFAR goal of providing care to 2 million people. These activities will

also support efforts to meet HIV and AIDS care and support objectives outlined in the USG Five-Year

Strategy for South Africa.

New/Continuing Activity: Continuing Activity

Continuing Activity: 13738

Continued Associated Activity Information

Activity Activity ID USG Agency Prime Partner Mechanism Mechanism ID Mechanism Planned Funds

System ID System ID

13738 3290.08 HHS/Centers for Columbia 6589 4502.08 Track 1 $4,446,000

Disease Control & University

Prevention Mailman School of

Public Health

7964 3290.07 HHS/Centers for Columbia 4502 4502.07 Track 1 $4,446,000

Disease Control & University

Prevention Mailman School of

Public Health

3290 3290.06 HHS/Centers for Columbia 2793 2793.06 Track 1 $4,173,768

Disease Control & University

Prevention Mailman School of

Public Health

Table 3.3.09: