BACKGROUND

With 2.1 million infected, Mozambique has one of the greatest number of HIV positive people worldwide. While female sex workers, men who have sex with men, people who inject drugs and people who are imprisoned, bear the highest burden of risk for HIV infection, these groups have among the lowest rates of access to HIV prevention services. These key populations, as well as other vulnerable priority populations, are central to HIV dynamics across the country. To date, efforts to reach key and priority populations (KPP) with HIV treatment interventions have resulted in an increased number of KPPs enrolled on antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, many challenges remain. KPPs tend to not know their HIV status, have high drop-out rates throughout the HIV testing and treatment process, and are often exposed to stigma, discrimination, and prejudice.

APPROACH  

The HIV Key and Priority Populations program, known as USAID PASSOS+, aims to improve health and HIV outcomes among KPPs in Mozambique. A local organization, Centro Internacional de Saúde Reproductiva em Moçambique (ICRH-M) will lead the project, in conjunction with other partners. Working in close coordination with the Ministry of Health and the National AIDS Council (CNCS), ICRH-M and its partners will train healthcare stakeholders at the provincial, district, facility and community levels. The goal is to provide quality services that can be scaled-up, through improved referrals and linkages across community and clinic-based service providers. By engaging KPPs in comprehensive, high-quality, stigma-free HIV prevention and/or treatment-related services, the project aims to reduce HIV incidence and AIDS-related mortality, bringing Mozambique closer to achieving its ambitious goals of reducing new HIV infection and ensuring more people receive treatment.

ANTICIPATED RESULTS 

• Increase access to integrated and comprehensive HIV interventions and health services for key and priority populations; 

• Promote an enabling environment that decreases social and structural barriers to accessing HIV and related services for key and priority populations; 

• Strengthen mapping, monitoring and tracking systems of services offered to key populations across the continuum of care.