Year 3 Annual Work Plan for the Livelihoods and Food Security Technical Assistance II Project (LIFT II)

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) Leader 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 link HIV-infected and affected households to economic strengthening, livelihoods and food security (ES/L/FS) opportunities with the end goal of increasing adherence and retention (A&R) in HIV care. Globally, the incidence of new HIV infections continues to decline, and antiretroviral therapy (ART) has become more widely available, prolonging and improving the quality of life for people living with HIV (PLHIV). As the epidemic evolves, it becomes increasingly important to promote the provision and maintenance of HIV care by establishing integrated support systems that link clinical services with community support that can enable PLHIV to pursue healthier, more economically productive and food secure lives. LIFT II's mandate is to link HIV-infected and affected households to ES/L/FS opportunities with the end goal of increasing A&R in HIV care and contributing to the Joint United Nations Programs on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) 90-90-90 global targets. LIFT II has set in place referral models in six countries that link health facilities, prioritizing those offering ART and nutrition assessment, counseling and support (NACS), with community services. The project has four key objectives which guide its implementation: 1) Improve access to ES/L/FS services for clinical health and NACS patients and families, through referrals to community support services; 2) Strengthen community services that provide ES/L/FS support as a component of a continuum of care for families; 3) Expand the evidence base for ES/L/FS programming impacts on health and nutrition, particularly with regard to retention in care, replicability, implementation at scale, cost-effectiveness and sustainability; and 4) Provide global technical leadership and strategic support to improve the quality of ES/L/FS programs and activities supported by PEPFAR, the Global Health Initiative (GHI) and Feed the Future (FtF) investments. In Year 3, LIFT II will work to expand client outreach and utilize evidence to document the impact of its multi-sectoral approach on adherence and retention in care. The project aims to maximize the number of HIV-affected clients reached through these referral models, strengthen the quality and effectiveness of supported systems, and develop a strong value proposition for health programs and host governments to scale up its approach. LIFT II will build country ownership and collaborate with existing health programs to build the capacity of national, district and community stakeholders. TA efforts will ensure alignment with PEPFAR 3.0's focus on sustainable control of the epidemic and concentrate on high quality implementation at scale, with particular attention placed on improving A&R in clinical care and treatment. The project will implement both global and country-level technical assistance (TA) activities to strengthen the integration between HIV, nutrition and economic strengthening. LIFT II will work to expand client outreach and utilize evidence to document the impact of its multi-sectoral approach on adherence and retention in care. The project will also provide global technical leadership and strategic support to improve the quality of ES/L/FS programs and activities supported by PEPFAR, the Global Health Initiative (GHI) and Feed the Future (FtF) investments.