HIV Reform in Action: Health Systems Strengthening for a Sustainable HIV / AIDS Response in Ukraine (HSS SHARE)

The project was implemented by Deloitte Consulting LLP, with funding from the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project's overall objective was to enhance national leadership and capacity for evidence-based and gender-sensitive HIV policy programming and implementation. The project focused on several key areas, including supporting national government institutions in AIDS policy development, programming, and implementation. This involved facilitating dialogue between the Ministry of Health (MoH), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Ministry of Social Policy (MSP), Parliament members, and regional entities to ensure finance allocation for the National AIDS response. The project also aimed to strengthen MoH capacity in national HIV/AIDS policy development, programming, monitoring, and evaluation. In the reporting period from April 1 to June 30, 2015, the project made significant progress in achieving its objectives. The project facilitated a national level meeting to discuss issues related to the adoption of Regional AIDS Programs (RAPs) for the comprehensive response to HIV at the regional level and resource allocation planning from local budgets. The meeting was scheduled for late June but was moved to July 9-10, 2015, following a request from the MoH and Ukrainian Center for Disease Control (UCDC). The project also conducted an assessment of MoH needs in HIV/AIDS policy development and programming. The Public Health Technical Working Group (PH TWG) completed a situational analysis of key public health operations, which identified gaps in performance of PH operations, as well as duplicative and/or overlapping functions between various government entities. The presentation of the situational analysis was made at the Conference on Public Health organized by MOH in collaboration with WHO. In addition, the project provided technical support to MoH in Health Reform Strategy development efforts in HIV/AIDS area. The PH TWG proposed a scenario for restructuring of Ukraine's public health system under the single mandate PH institution, with regional entities. This proposal defined roles and responsibilities at the national, regional, and rayon levels and included an integration of PH surveillance, policy development, and programming functions for HIV and AIDS. The project staff and PH TWG will continue meetings and discussions with local and international experts and stakeholders to come up with the consensus and finalize the PH system model structure for Ukraine. The Ministry of Health established a public health department based on the Terms of Reference (TOR) and staffing recommendations. The project also assisted with the organizational development of relevant structure within MoH responsible for policy and programming after the State Service (SS) termination. The project's progress was monitored and evaluated through various indicators, including the adoption of RAPs, strengthening MoH capacity, and providing technical support to MoH in Health Reform Strategy development efforts. The project's overall performance was satisfactory, with some challenges and lessons learned identified during the reporting period. The project will continue to work towards achieving its objectives and strengthening Ukraine's health system in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.