BACKGROUND
In Mozambique, Ministry of Health work at the provincial level is overseen by the Provincial Health Services (SPS) and the provincial Directorates of Health (DPS). Their oversight includes the country’s HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB) response initiatives. The SPS and DPS in the provinces, however, generally lack the capacity to develop strategic plans, implement high quality health interventions and collect, report and use adequate data. This project is the result of a direct agreement between USAID Mozambique and the SPS of Sofala. It aims to strengthen their capacity to assume charge of the HIV/AIDS response and TB interventions and monitoring activities in the province.
In Sofala, the HIV prevalence rate increased from 13.2 percent to 16.3 percent between 2009 and 2015. According to Spectrum estimates, the province had 174,410 people living with HIV in 2020, of which only 72.7 percent were undergoing treatment. In December 2020, the overall 3-month retention rate of people on antiretroviral treatment (ART) was 91 percent. As for tuberculosis, Sofala health authorities reported 440 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020.
APPROACH
To support the Sofala SPS and strengthen the provincial health systems overall, the Sofala Provincial Health Services Institutional Strengthening Project (G2G Sofala) provides technical training and support to plan, implement and monitor HIV and TB program activities. The project supports training at the clinical level and expands services using mobile brigades to facilitate improved access to, and quality of, healthcare services.
The project provides direct support to the Sofala SPS through targeted technical assistance aimed at strengthening their capacities related to financial management, strategic planning, and budget execution. It also aims to ensure local availability of medical supplies and other needed commodities by improving the Sofala SPS logistics management systems.
ANTICIPATED RESULTS
The Sofala Provincial Health Services Institutional Strengthening Project has nine main objectives:
Improve patients' linkage to ART.
Increase the retention of patients on ART in the province.
Improve data quality for decision making at all levels.
Ensure the effectiveness of antiretroviral drugs in patients with comorbidities.
Ensure the correct prescription of optimized regimens to all patients on ART.
Improve the planning of HIV program activities.
Ensure the timely implementation of planned activities.
Improve the monitoring and evaluation of the implementation of the program activities.
Increase the TB case detection rate.
