LINKAGES Quarterly Report (July to September 2020) – Democratic Republic of Congo

The project worked in three provinces: Kinshasa, Haut-Katanga, and Lualaba, with 18 health zones and 36 health institutions. Prevention services were provided at the community level, and treatment services were offered at clinical institutions supported by other USAID implementation partners. The project exceeded annual targets for female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in the reporting period. A total of 3,690 FSWs, 1,244 MSM, and 3,610 clients of FSWs were reached with HIV prevention interventions. The project also achieved a high case-finding rate for key populations, with 12 percent for FSWs, 9 percent for MSM, and 9 percent for clients of sex workers. The linkage to care rate was around 95 percent for all categories. The project implemented various strategies to reach more clients of FSWs, resume and scale-up index testing, improve uptake of viral load services, and implement the Online Reservation Application (ORA) through the QuickRes platform. Additionally, two community service delivery sites (CSDPs) were launched in Lualaba Province, and 1,029 patients were initiated on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) treatment during the fiscal year 2020. The project achieved 124 percent of the annual target for all populations reached, 51 percent of the annual testing target, and 75 percent for the HIV-positive annual target. The DRC project performed well regarding case finding and links to ART, with 11 percent and 95 percent, respectively. The project also exceeded targets for FSWs, MSM, and clients of FSWs, achieving 108 percent, 127 percent, and 160 percent of the annual targets, respectively. The project's success in initiating treatment within seven days of diagnosis was 93 percent in Q1 FY20, 94 percent in Q2 FY20, 96 percent in Q3 FY20, and 92 percent in Q4. The test-and-treat strategy was used in all outreach sessions and in DICs and SDPs, and all clients diagnosed HIV positive were requested to start treatment. The project's efforts to counsel clients and encourage them to start treatment on the same day of HIV testing resulted in a high success rate, with 70 percent in Q1, 78 percent in Q2, 84 in Q3, and 79 percent in Q4.