AIDSFree Annual Report Project Year 2: October 2015–September 2016

Agency for International Development (USAID) to support the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). The project is implemented by JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. with partners Abt Associates Inc., Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, EnCompass LLC, IMA World Health, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Jhpiego Corporation, and PATH. The project's main objective is to advance the achievement of the vision of an AIDS-free generation by providing technical support and capacity development to host-country governments and HIV implementers. During project year 2 (PY 2), the AIDSFree Project applied its expertise in capacity development, technical assistance, and direct service provision to build momentum toward the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS' (UNAIDS) 90-90-90 goals in seven African countries. The project's initiatives combine core Headquarters Operational Plan (HOP)-funded and field buy-in activities in critical areas of need, helping PEPFAR-supported countries fill gaps in service delivery. In PY 2, AIDSFree focused on increasing stakeholders' capacity to achieve common goals, working toward specific objectives such as reaching men and boys with voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) and HIV testing services (HTS), expanding services for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and pediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART), and strengthening country health systems to advance the move toward sustainable, country-managed HIV programs. Central to the AIDSFree Project's strategy are its partnerships and strong collaboration with host-country governments, stakeholders from the private and public sectors, as well as community and faith-based organizations. Through these strategic partnerships, AIDSFree has advanced progress toward specific objectives around reaching men and boys, women and children, and niche populations with HIV prevention, care, and treatment services. The project uses both innovative and proven strategies to fill service delivery gaps and support capacity-building and system-strengthening activities, which are paramount to achieving programmatic sustainability and assisting countries to meet their targets. The project's initiatives include reaching men and boys to achieve sustainability through VMMC as a pre-90 prevention strategy, connecting men and boys to health care, including HIV testing, while helping country governments scale-up and sustain high-quality male circumcision services. Additionally, the project is leveraging strategic partnerships in different sectors to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV by identifying women and children who are HIV positive and connecting them to treatment. Comprehensive Strategies for Expanding Access for Niche Populations covers AIDSFree's initiatives to connect prisoners, police, and prison staff, as well as their families and surrounding communities, to comprehensive HIV prevention, care, treatment, and support services, including gender-based violence prevention. The project also highlights AIDSFree's efforts to build sustainability through systems strengthening, capacity building, engaging civil society organizations, and quality improvement. To complement the project's interventions, the AIDSFree knowledge base exists to help program managers, policymakers, practitioners, and volunteers access and apply the resources they need to shape programs that better reach their target populations. During PY 2, AIDSFree measured the website analytics for several of its important HIV testing and treatment databases, prevention tools, and communities of practice, which connected over 27,000 users from over 118 countries, including the PEPFAR priority countries, to technical information pertaining to 90-90-90. More than 515 organizations linked to the AIDSFree website and featured our resources and tools on their website platforms.