Quarterly Report FY 2016 Q1 LIFT II Project

Agency for International Development (USAID) Office of HIV and AIDS (OHA) under Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-LA-13-00006. LIFT II was launched August 1, 2013 as a five-year associate award under the Financial Integration, Economic Leveraging, Broad-Based Dissemination and Support (FIELD-Support) Leaders with Associates. LIFT II is managed and led by FHI 360 and implemented with support from CARE International (CARE) and World Vision (WV). The project aims to foster a systemic approach that connects people living with HIV (PLHIV) to economic strengthening, livelihoods and food security (ES/L/FS) services at the community level, in order to improve their overall food, nutritional and economic security and strengthen adherence and retention (A&R) in care. Under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the incidence of new HIV infections continues to decline, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) has become more widely available. However, ART provision has created more pressures for governments and communities with already scarce resources to provide ongoing care and support. LIFT II will continue to address the impact of HIV on people's livelihoods and food security, especially in countries with both high HIV prevalence and high rates of malnutrition. The project will expand its working model activities initiated under LIFT II by systematically linking nutrition assessment, counseling and support (NACS) clients with community services. LIFT II technical assistance (TA) activities will meet four key objectives: improved access to ES/L/FS services for clinical health and NACS clients and families, strengthened community services that provide ES/L/FS support as a component of a continuum of care for families, expanded evidence base for ES/L/FS programming impacts on health and nutrition, particularly with regard to retention in care, and enhanced capacity of national and subnational governments and partners to deliver ES/L/FS services. The project will be implemented in several countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia. During the period of October 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015, LIFT II implemented various activities in the DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia. In the DRC, LIFT II worked with the Ministry of Health to strengthen the referral system for ES/L/FS services. In Lesotho, the project implemented a village savings and loan association (VSLA) program to improve access to financial services for PLHIV. In Malawi, LIFT II conducted a study on the impact of ES/L/FS services on retention in care. In Namibia, the project implemented a nutrition assessment, counseling and support (NACS) program to improve access to nutrition services for PLHIV. In Nigeria, LIFT II worked with the National AIDS and STI Control Programme to strengthen the capacity of healthcare providers to deliver ES/L/FS services. In Tanzania, the project implemented a household economic strengthening (HES) program to improve access to economic services for PLHIV. In Zambia, LIFT II conducted a study on the impact of ES/L/FS services on food security. LIFT II also implemented various global activities during the period of October 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015. The project strengthened the evidence base for ES/L/FS programming impacts on health and nutrition, particularly with regard to retention in care. LIFT II also enhanced the capacity of national and subnational governments and partners to deliver ES/L/FS services. The project implemented a monitoring and evaluation system to track progress and identify areas for improvement. LIFT II also disseminated technical notes and products to stakeholders, including the LIFT II website and resource dissemination platform. The project also participated in conferences and events to share knowledge and best practices.