Detailed Mechanism Funding and Narrative

Years of mechanism: 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Details for Mechanism ID: 10725
Country/Region: Zambia
Year: 2013
Main Partner: Catholic Relief Services
Main Partner Program: NA
Organizational Type: FBO
Funding Agency: HHS/CDC
Total Funding: $515,000

The Catholic Relief Services, through the Integrated Support for ART & PMTCT (ISAP) program aims to support local partner treatment facilities (LPTFs) and their communities to use a family centered approach to respond to HIV/AIDS related needs. ISAP supports 11 sites in six provinces to focus on PMTCT, HSS, PDCS, HTC, within PMTCT, and SI.

Using the base funds, ISAP will support the MOH to deliver sustainable high quality comprehensive PMTCT services in the 11 LPTFs in collaboration with AIDS Relief, a PEPFAR project that currently supports ART programs at the same LPTFs. ISAP has the following objectives:

a. Ensure pregnant women access to high quality PMTCT activities.

b. Ensure HIV exposed infants receive high quality follow-up and support services until their second birthday.

ISAP will integrate PMTCT services into existing services such as MNCH units, FP units and community based services by targeting:women and men of child bearing age, especially couples; HIV infected pregnant women and their partners; HIV exposed and infected children; MARPs in particular prisoners and migrant populations.

ISAP will continue to upgrade and refurbish MNCH departments, waiting shelters, and lab facilities. ISAP will support the sustainable transition of its services through increased on-site mentoring and technical support. CRS-ISAP will focus on implementing activities designed to specifically: continue to expand integration models for ANC and ART for increased coverage of more efficacious ARV regimens for PMTCT including HAART; Support development and deployment of integration models for PMTCT, pediatric HIV care, and routine MNCH services such as EPI, growth monitoring, nutritional support, and post natal services in order to optimize service delivery, reduce LTFU rates.

Funding for Care: Pediatric Care and Support (PDCS): $100,000

ISAP will support exposed babies of HIV infected women by ensuring that they are managed in line with the latest MOH guidelines to ensure they are given appropriate Septrin prophylaxis, appropriate treatment with Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the form of Nevirapine syrup and that early infant diagnosis (EID) guidelines are followed and implemented.

ISAP will work to support facilities as well as district health teams to improve EID by reducing DBS turnaround time to an acceptable level by supporting the Ministry in the Scale up of the SMS technology as well as by integrating DBS transport systems into existing systems. ISAP will also build capacity of the management teams to co-ordinate DBS logistics management. ISAP will continue to mentor LPTF staff and train CHWs to track all patients to ensure appropriate feeding as well as ensuring results get back to the caregivers.ISAP will continue to mentor staff to ensure that all HIV infected children and their families are enrolled in care.ISAP will train CHWs to follow-up HIV exposed infants up to at least 24months.ISAP will provide comprehensive MNCH services to exposed children including NACS and appropriate linkages to other organizations which supply supplementary food to exposed HIV infants, prevention of diarrhoea diseases and prevention of TB using IPT.

Funding for Biomedical Prevention: Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (MTCT): $315,000

ISAP will implement an integrated PMTCT and ART care and delivery service by establishing comprehensive ART care for pregnant women and their families. ISAP will support communities surrounding LPTFs participate in all four prongs of PMTCT services focusing on sensitizing the community members on primary prevention of HIV among women and men of child bearing age, benefits of HIV testing and knowing their status, the importance of HIV testing and re-testing in pregnancy, the importance of preventing Gender Based Violence, sensitization on gender equity and appropriate messages and information related to medical male circumcision. ISAP will train CHWs in MOH approved PMTCT packages to enable them sensitize the community and to be able to track HIV infected pregnant women in their communities as well as tracking of exposed infants.

ISAP will ensure that pregnant women, HIV exposed children and their families are engaged in comprehensive HIV/AIDS care and treatment by focusing on strengthening linkages and integration between ART and MNCH clinics, training MNCH nurses and midwives to provide comprehensive HIV care and treatment in addition to comprehensive ANC, and growth monitoring services including timely DBS/EID services, Septrin prophylaxis, Isoniazid Preventive Therapy (IPT), infant feeding counseling, child counseling, syphilis screening at baseline and at 32 weeks, Nutrition Assessment, Counseling and Support (NACS), linking to programs offering supplementary/replacement feeding programs. ISAP will support the MOH to incorporate the changes in the new guidelines into a new ANC card as well as the requisite registers, IEC materials and training packages.

ISAP will ensure that pregnant women receive an evidence-based effective combination of ART and prophylaxis focusing on prioritizing CD4 counts for pregnant women and supporting the MOH in acquiring Point of Care CD4 machines, training 22 MNCH nurses and midwives in basic ART management in order to provide ART services in line with standard ART care within the MNCH department including screening for TB. ISAP will provide onsite mentoring to MNCH nurses and midwives on the latest Zambian guidelines. ISAP will encourage self evaluation and local data use by encouraging sites to develop PMTCT Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) teams and to link these teams to already established AIDS Relief ART CQI teams in order to encourage program ownership and effectiveness in the use of resources. The COP12 PMTCT PLUS UP funds $ 50,000 will contribute towards the acceleration of the Ministry of Health (MOH) PMTCT program specifically in health facilities operated by Faith Based Organizations across the country. These funds will be used to implement one-off activities intended to contribute towards the strengthening of the base of the national PMTCT program for a more effective MTCT elimination drive. Further using these additional funds, CRS-ISAP will focus on implementing activities designed to specifically: continue to expand integration models for ANC and ART for increased coverage of more efficacious ARV regimens for PMTCT including HAART; Support development and deployment of integration models for PMTCT, pediatric HIV care, and routine MNCH services such as EPI, growth monitoring, nutritional support, and post natal services in order to optimize service delivery, reduce loss-to-followup rates, and maximize leveraging of efforts across programs for increased overall impact.

Funding for Treatment: Pediatric Treatment (PDTX): $100,000

ISAP will ensure all HIV infected children are initiated on treatment by referring them to Paediatric ART services which are provided by AIDS Relief in all ISAP sites

Subpartners Total: $0
Chikuni Mission Hospital: NA
Children's AIDS Fund International: NA
Chreso Ministries: NA
Chreso Ministries: NA
Chreso Ministries: NA
Circle of Hope: NA
Palladium Group (formerly Futures Group): NA
Katondwe Mission Hospital: NA
Macha Mission Hospital: NA
Malcolm Watson Mine Hospital: NA
Mukinge Mission Hospital: NA
Sichili Mission Hospital: NA
University of Maryland: NA
Wusakile Mine Hospital: NA
Key Issues Identified in Mechanism
Implement activities to change harmful gender norms & promote positive gender norms
Increase gender equity in HIV prevention, care, treatment and support
Child Survival Activities
Mobile Populations
Safe Motherhood
Tuberculosis