USAID SAFE: Supporting an AIDS-Free Era Program Quarterly Report (2nd Quarter – January to March 2021)

The program, implemented by John Snow, Inc. (JSI) in partnership with Abt Associates, Inc., and mothers2mothers (m2m), aims to reduce HIV mortality, morbidity, and transmission, while integrating cervical cancer screening, family planning services, voluntary medical male circumcision, and early childhood development. The program operates in 302 supported facilities, with a focus on increasing access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV-positive adults and children, reducing new infections, improving nutritional assessment, counseling, and support (NACS) and family planning services, and strengthening the capacity of local health institutions to serve HIV-affected populations. The USAID SAFE program is organized around nine interconnected objectives, each of which must be fully completed to contribute to the program's overall success. These objectives include ensuring that 95 percent of HIV-positive individuals know their HIV status, initiating 95 percent of those who tested positive on ART, and ensuring that 95 percent of those on ART are virally suppressed. The program's technical components include direct service delivery and technical assistance for HIV services, strengthening of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems for improved program management, and public financial management capacity building of the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ministry of Finance (MOF) in support of government-to-government (G2G) activities. As of the reporting period, the program has made significant progress in achieving its objectives. The number of HIV-positive individuals who know their status has increased, and the number of individuals initiated on ART has also increased. Additionally, the program has strengthened the health system to support the 95/95/95 objectives, provided voluntary medical male circumcision to priority populations, and integrated voluntary family planning services into 95 percent of HIV service delivery locations. The program has also made progress in strengthening M&E capacity at the facility, district, and provincial levels for improved program management, and has strengthened the public financial management systems of the MOH and MOF to enable efficient use of direct G2G funds from USAID. The USAID SAFE program has also implemented various interventions to improve the lives of people living with HIV, including the provision of life-saving HIV treatment despite interruptions to global supply caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has also supported clinics in improving viral load suppression among pediatric HIV clients, and has provided a powerful tool to link people living with HIV to treatment. Overall, the USAID SAFE program has made significant progress in reducing HIV mortality, morbidity, and transmission, and has improved the lives of people living with HIV in Zambia.