EpiC Semi-Annual Report (FY21 Q3-Q4 April to September 2021) - Tanzania

The services offered included demand creation for HIV services, HIV Testing Services (HTS), Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) services, linkage to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and community ART. Other activities included training of Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Peer Educators (PEs) on PrEP, HIV Self-Testing (HIVST), Family Planning (FP), and Adolescent Friendly Services (AFS). Implementation of structural interventions included WORTH+ groups and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention interventions. EpiC was engaged in the National Technical Working Groups (TWGs) to review the National PrEP Implementation Framework, which was approved in September 2021. The project scaled up PrEP services using the approved framework and conducted refresher trainings to 229 HCWs on PrEP services across six regions. The project initiated PrEP services for 2,155 KVPs within two weeks. EpiC conducted internal and external Quarterly Data Quality Assessment (DQA) across eight regions to identify best practices and gaps in data management. The DQA helped to improve the data quality of submitted reports. The project reached 88,251 Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) with HIV prevention interventions, achieving 47% of the annual PP_PREV target. Among AGYW, 8,570 were tested for HIV, with 445 identified as HIV positive and 416 enrolled in care and treatment services. The project also provided Family Planning (FP) services to 14,653 AGYW, with 4,155 receiving pills, 1,204 injectables, 1,201 implants, and 58 successfully referred for Intra-uterine cervical devices (IUCDs). A total of 26,426 HIVST kits were distributed, achieving 20% of the annual target. The project scaled up PrEP services in six new regions, with a total of 229 HCWs trained using the new national PrEP training curriculum. The project initiated PrEP services for 2,155 KVPs, with 7,189 KVPs refilled with PrEP across seven regions. The project's achievements against annual targets for key indicators include: KP_PREV (121%), PP_PREV (98%), HTS_TST (85%), HTS_TST_POS (82%), TX_NEW_VERIFY (76%), HTS_Mobile_TST (87%), HTS_Mobile_POS (126%), HTS_Index_TST (95%), HTS_Index_POS (71%), and HTS_RECENCY (0%). The project also achieved 32% of the annual PrEP_Curr target and 31% of the annual PrEP_NEW target.