HIV and gender-based violence (GBV) are mutually reinforcing epidemics.
To address gender-based violence as a barrier to HIV epidemic control, USAID implements the following strategy:
Graphic 1: GBV programming across the HIV clinical cascade
Prevention
Evidence-based HIV Prevention Approaches
- HIV prevention interventions must integrate GBV prevention and link to the clinical cascade.
Initiate on PrEP
- Integrated GBV case identification and first line support and referrals to GBV services help increase PrEP adherence.
Testing
Access HTS (95%)
- GBV case identification and first-line support is a minimum standard of safe and ethical index testing services and supports treatment initiation or uptake of prevention services.
Care and Treatment
Initiate on ART (95%) & Continue on ART & viral suppression (95%)
- Integrated GBV case identification and first- line support should become standard in HIV treatment, with survivors provided with or referred to GBV clinical care.
- Increasing the reach and improving the quality of GBV services is critical to support retention and adherence to HIV treatment.
USAID’s HIV/GBV Programmatic Highlights
- Nigeria uses custom indicator data to improve GBV case identification, first-line support, and referrals within HIV clinical services
- Uganda partners with the Government of Uganda to train health care providers on responding to violence against children within HIV service delivery.
- Zambia delivers clinical post-violence care services at standalone one-stop-centers and integrated GBV/HIV treatment sites
- Namibia implemented a violence prevention intervention that reached 1800 young men and boys and linked them to HIV prevention services.
- South Africa analyzed HIV incidence and GBV prevalence hotspots to identify sites to prioritize for the delivery of post- violence clinical care services.