EpiC Quarterly Report (January to March 2020)

The project aimed to increase case finding, improve tracking of key populations living with HIV (KPLHIV), and linkage to care through the online platform. Online targeted outreach resulted in a case finding rate of 34% among MSM, with 100% of clients initiated on treatment and 29% of clients enrolled in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The case finding rate for FSW decreased slightly from 24% in Q1 to 21% in Q2. The project achieved 79% for testing, 85% for case detection, 80% for treatment initiation, 72% for those currently on treatment, and 118% for those newly enrolled on PrEP. EpiC tracked partner performance against targets weekly, allowing for quick response to gaps identified and improving performance. The project also distributed 43,075 condoms and 46,160 lubricants to KPs. Case finding rates among FSW varied across sites, with the highest case finding in Ngamiland at 32% and the lowest in Selibe-Phikwe at 10%. In Q2 FY20, overall case finding for MSM improved from 11% in Q1 to 14%, with the highest case finding in Ngamiland at 44% and the lowest in Selibe-Phikwe at 6%. The project also scaled up the "Going Online Platform" in Q2, resulting in 253 KPs being reached through online outreach in Gaborone, Francistown, and Maun. Of these, 32 (13%) made it to the physical space and arrived to access services at static clinics, with a case-finding rate of 34% among those who accessed testing services. The project also achieved significant results in PrEP enrollment, with 478 (73%) of 654 KPs who tested negative for HIV being newly enrolled into PrEP. PrEP enrollments almost doubled from Q1 to Q2 due to increased efforts to improve knowledge about PrEP in the community. The project also experienced challenges with enrolling all those who test negative on PrEP, with some clients falling off while waiting to be seen. ART uptake was at 113% across all EpiC sites, with the highest uptake in Gaborone at 135% and the lowest in Selebi Phikwe at 100%. The increased uptake in Gaborone was due to mobilization of non-national KPLHIV who knew their status but not yet on treatment. The project strengthened peer navigation strategies to enhance linkage across all districts to improve uptake of ART. All FSWs who were tested during the reporting period were successfully linked to treatment. The linkage to ART rate for MSM who tested and were initiated on treatment during the quarter was 98%, with the district with the highest linkage rate being Ngamiland at 105% and the lowest being Selebi Phikwe at 80%.