EGPAF launches new USAID-funded project to expand integrated HIV services in Uganda
The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) today announced the launch of a new project to enhance integrated HIV service delivery in the southwest region of Uganda. Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Southwestern Uganda is a five-year, $60 million project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The project will take a data-driven and integrated approach to increase the availability, accessibility, and quality of health services including HIV and TB prevention, care and treatment; maternal, neonatal, and child health; family planning; nutrition counseling; malaria treatment; and other primary care services in 14 districts in the southwest region of Uganda.
EGPAF will lead this new project with local partners Amref Health Africa, the Mayanja Memorial Hospital Foundation, and the Uganda Health Marketing Group. EGPAF and its local partners will help create a larger, more comprehensive health system in Uganda by supporting integrated health platforms, strengthening health systems, and building local capacity at the district and community levels. EGPAF will also support the sustainability of these health services through training and mentoring programs at local and district health facilities. The project also seeks to expand access to HIV treatment and prevention services for adolescents, young women, and other key populations who are at increased risk for HIV infection.
"With the increasing emphasis on sustainability and country ownership in global health, it is more important than ever before to take an integrated approach to health service delivery and increase capacity at the local level," said Charles Lyons, EGPAF president and CEO. "This is especially true for vulnerable populations, such as adolescents, young women, and girls, among whom new HIV infections and AIDS-related deaths are on the rise. Through this new project with USAID, we will aim to reach these key populations where they live, get them on treatment as early as possible, and provide them with the support they need to stay on treatment for life."
This new project will build upon the previous successes of the Strengthening the TB and HIV/AIDS Response in the Southwest Region of Uganda project (USAID STAR-SW, 2010- 2015). USAID STAR-SW was one of the first EGPAF-supported programs to feature a heavy focus on health service integration. During the five-year project, the number of people on antiretroviral therapy (ART) increased by six fold and the number of children on ART increased by 73 percent. In addition, the number of tuberculosis and HIV co-infected patients on ART has tripled.
"We are honored to not only continue, but to expand our work with USAID in Uganda to strengthen integrated health systems in the southwestern region," said Dr. Edward Bitarakwate, country director for EGPAF-Uganda. "Our ongoing work in the region demonstrates that when HIV and AIDS prevention, care, and treatment services are integrated across a spectrum of care, we are able to have the greatest impact in reaching children and families with lifesaving services that will bring about the end of AIDS and improve overall health outcomes."
EGPAF has been a longtime partner of the U.S. government, the government of Uganda, and multilateral and private donors to scale up comprehensive HIV prevention, care, and treatment services in Uganda. Since 2000, EGPAF-supported programs in Uganda have reached more than 2.7 million pregnant women with prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services, initiated 65,000 people on ART, and reached more than 10,000 people with tuberculosis care and treatment services.
Provided by Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation
