LINKAGES Quarterly Report (July 1 – September 30, 2016)- Burundi

The project implementation phase started in August 2016, and the field team became operational during this quarter. The project was introduced to national and local authorities to ensure visibility and coordination with stakeholders. Subawards were signed with three community-based organizations (CBOs) for project implementation: Association Burundaise Pour le Bien Etre Familial (ABUBEF), Association Nationale de Soutien aux Séropositifs et Malades du SIDA (ANSS), and Society for Women Against AIDS (SWAA). The project focused on three key result areas: increasing the availability of comprehensive prevention, care, and treatment services; enhancing and sustaining demand for these services among key populations; and strengthening systems for planning, monitoring, evaluating, and assuring the quality of programs for key populations. The project reached 981 female sex workers (FSWs) and 262 men who have sex with men (MSM) with HIV prevention interventions, including sensitization, testing, and treatment. Among the 695 FSWs tested, 48 tested positive, and 19 were newly enrolled in clinical care, while 12 had already started antiretroviral therapy (ART). The project also distributed condoms and lubricants, treated 84 key population members for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and launched three drop-in centers (DICs) in Bujumbura Mairie and Kirundo. The DICs provided social and behavioral change communication (SBCC) on STI, HIV, and human rights, psychosocial support, referral to clinics for HTC, care, and treatment. The project trained 175 peer educators (164 FSWs and 11 MSM) on basic knowledge on HIV/AIDS and STI, HIV testing and counseling, PMTCT, gender-based violence, communication techniques, and data collection tools. The project also assessed partners' monitoring and evaluation (M&E) capacity, developed standardized data collection tools, and trained partners on the use of data monitoring tools. A draft Unique Identification Code (UIC) system was developed in coordination with local LINKAGES partners. The project's monitoring and evaluation activities were conducted with the support of technical assistance from the LINKAGES global team. The project's progress was significant, with over 50 percent of the fiscal year target for prevention interventions for FSWs and 43 percent for MSM reached within a short period of time. The project's results were encouraging, given the reduced period of implementation and the challenges faced in reaching high-risk locations. The project's future plans include hot spot mapping and size estimate exercise, microplanning, and subsequent peer outreach and services, including testing.