Program Expansion Supplement: Increasing Access to HIV Confidential Voluntary Counseling and Testing and Enhancing HIV/AIDS Communications, Prevention and Care in the kingdom of Lesotho under PEPFAR

archived

The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has called for immediate, comprehensive and evidence based action to turn the tide of global HIV/AIDS. As called for by the PEPFAR Reauthorization Act of 2008, initiative goals over the period of 2009 through 2013 are to treat at least three million HIV infected people with effective combination anti-retroviral therapy (ART); care for twelve million HIV infected and affected persons, including five million orphans and vulnerable children; and prevent twelve million infections worldwide (3,12,12). To meet these goals and build sustainable local capacity, PEPFAR will support training of at least 140,000 new health care workers in HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care. The Emergency Plan Five-Year Strategy for the five year period, 2009 - 2014 is available at the following Internet address: http://www.pepfar.gov. The purpose of this program is tobuild upon work accomplished by the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare (MOHSW) as well other partners in the Kingdom of Lesotho to create a sustainable program for confidential HIV counseling and testing (CT), as well as implement innovative, culturally appropriate sexual and biomedical prevention strategies. Specifically, the recipient of this award will expand quality HIV prevention, behavioral and change communication (BCC), and confidential HIV CT by ensuring that medical service providers, counselors and trained peer educators can provide quality programs that target those at risk for HIV in Lesotho. Activities should also address structural barriers to service delivery such as providing CT services for hard to reach populations through mobile testing. Use of CT services is intended to lead to safer sexual behaviors, including abstinence, fidelity, correct and consistent condom use for populations engaged in high-risk behaviors, and increased use of care and support through a strong referral network to complementary care. This agreement will build on and continue existing prevention approaches (such as personal risk assessment, condom demonstration, STI education and testing, CT, condom distribution and social marketing, and BCC around male circumcision) and conduct studies to better target HIV prevention, care and treatment programs in Lesotho. Increased access to, and uptake of, prevention services among vulnerable populations are intended to lead to safer sexual behaviors, including abstinence, fidelity, and correct and consistent condom use for populations engaged in high-risk behavior. This program will not be funding the provision of male circumcision services, as such.

High