HIV Prevention Interventions for Most-at-Risk Populations (HIV-MARPS) Annual Progress Report October 1, 2010 – September 30, 2011

The project aimed to reduce the spread of HIV among most-at-risk populations, including female sex workers, men who have sex with men, and injecting drug users. Implementing partners, including Matshelo Community Development Association (MCDA), Nkaikela Youth Group (NYG), Tebelopele, Silence Kills, True Men Trust, BCC/Kgolagano, LCCT, and BOFWA, conducted various activities to achieve the project's objectives. These activities included training peer educators on data management processes, training on participatory social and institutional mapping to enhance referrals, and consultative meetings on referral linkages and networks. The project also focused on developing MARPS-specific IEC materials and conducting data quality audits (DQA) for data reported to USAID. The DQA revealed that some grantees faced challenges in collecting and reporting data, which affected the project's performance indicators. According to the project's performance indicators, the number of people reached through HIV prevention messages increased significantly during the reporting period. For example, MCDA reported reaching 1,500 people through HIV prevention messages, while NYG reported reaching 2,500 people. The number of condom outlets also increased, with MCDA reporting 50 new condom outlets and NYG reporting 100 new condom outlets. The project also made significant progress in training health care workers on HIV prevention and counseling. For example, Tebelopele reported training 50 health care workers, while Silence Kills reported training 20 health care workers. Despite the progress made, the project faced several barriers to implementation, including limited resources, inadequate infrastructure, and lack of community engagement. The project also faced challenges in collecting and reporting data, which affected the project's performance indicators. The project's conclusion and way forward emphasized the need for continued support and resources to sustain the project's activities and achieve its objectives. The project also recommended that implementing partners strengthen their capacity to collect and report data, engage with the community, and address the barriers to implementation. The project's work plan for 2011/2012 outlined several activities, including conducting a rapid organizational capacity assessment tool (ROCAT) to assess the capacity of implementing partners, developing a project continuation and extension plan, and conducting a midterm evaluation to assess the project's progress and identify areas for improvement. Overall, the HIV-MARPS project made significant progress in reducing the spread of HIV among most-at-risk populations in Botswana. However, the project faced several challenges that need to be addressed to sustain its activities and achieve its objectives.