HIV & AIDS

MSH salutes frontline providers working to improve the lives of people affected by AIDS. Photo by Carmen Urdaneta

MSH strengthens the health systems that HIV & AIDS services need to be efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable: service delivery; pharmaceutical, medical device, and diagnostic technology management; human resources for health; leadership, management, and governance; financing; and information.

MSH directly engages global partners such as the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. MSH is a leader in building public-private partnerships, coordinating multisectoral initiatives, and helping governments and other partners mount a comprehensive response to HIV & AIDS.

MSH applies almost 40 years of experience to integrating primary health care, including tuberculosis and malaria services, into HIV & AIDS programs around the world. We help provide the full range of services in prevention, care, treatment, and management in dozens of countries.

SERVICES

  • Comprehensive, integrated health service delivery MSH supports coordination and builds capacity at the central, regional, local, and community levels to strengthen the management and service elements that together create a united response to the HIV & AIDS pandemic.

  • Well-functioning pharmaceutical and laboratory systems We strengthen or establish reliable, cost-effective, and sustainable mechanisms to help ensure availability of medicines needed for the care and treatment of people living with HIV & AIDS. We also support laboratory systems that provide timely and accurate diagnoses, and facilitate improved case management through laboratory monitoring.

  • Supporting human resources for health MSH works with governments and health managers to plan and prepare the health workforce needed to integrate HIV & AIDS services into related services and to develop human resource management systems to support them.

  • Better leadership, management, and governance We foster leadership, promote good governance, and help modernize management so systems run more efficiently. MSH has extensive experience in individual performance improvement, organizational capacity-building, and health workforce planning.

  • Solutions for health care financing MSH brings 15 years of expertise in performance-based financing, grant management, and costing to support the scale-up and quality improvement of HIV & AIDS services.

  • Essential information Information systems help all those who combat the spread of HIV to make the most of limited resources, expand services, and serve clients better. MSH works with partners to design practical systems to collect, use, and share the reliable, timely, and accurate data needed for sound program planning and management, supervision, quality patient care, and case management.


RESULTS

  • The Supply Chain Management System (SCMS), which works with international and local partners in 16 countries, is saving $14 million per month on the purchase of antiretroviral medicines by building information systems to improve forecasting, using generics, pooling procurement, and establishing long-term contracts with manufacturers.

  • MSH is integrating HIV & AIDS and family planning and reproductive health (FP/RH) activities in multiple countries, including Malawi and Kenya. Nearly 1,000 community-based distribution agents in Malawi dispense contraceptives, make referrals, and educate clients. From October 2007 through December 2008, more than 100,000 people received FP/HIV messages and services.

  • The national Ethiopia HIV/AIDS Care and Support Program (HCSP) is strengthening districts and health centers and using case managers, training, and outreach to offer comprehensive HIV/TB services to a population of 64 million. More than 4,000 community health workers have been trained in HIV prevention, care, and treatment, contributing to nearly 1 million individuals being counseled and tested for HIV in 2008 alone. By strengthening service delivery linkages at community and health facility levels, in supported communities the number of patients on antiretroviral treatment lost to treatment  has been sustained at less than 7%, or four times lower than the national average.

  • MSH, with four partners, leads the USAID-funded Grant Management Solutions (GMS) Project, which assists countries receiving grants from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. In 2008, Grant Management Solutions helped 40 countries to manage a total of 121 grants, or about $2.7 billion. GMS assists in governance and leadership challenges; financial and grants management and reporting; procurement and supply management; and improving the skills and participation of civil society organizations.