World Education Inc in partnership with HOCIC implemented the IMPACT program to support the Ministry of Health and Child Care in accelerating access to care and treatment to children living with HIV and AIDS.
World Education Inc in partnership with HOCIC implemented the IMPACT program to support the Ministry of Health and Child Care in accelerating access to care and treatment to children living with HIV and AIDS. According to the Ministry of Health and Child Care only 50% of ART eligible children are on care and treatment. As a result of these findings HOCIC implemented the Expanded Integrated Management of Paediatric (EIP) ART Care and Treatment program in three districts namely Bulawayo, Umguza and Bulilima and the program was aimed at increasing the uptake of ART among children aged between 0 and 19 years from 2014 to 2017.
In this program HOCIC supported MOHCC in the identification and enrolment of 1330 HIV positive children into the ART programme in FY16. In so doing the project:
Strengthened the capacity of community-level cadres to identify children for enrolment in the ART program and to support adherence, nutrition, and psychosocial needs of families of HIV positive children.
Increased uptake of and retention in PMTCT (Prevention of Mother to Child transmission) services for mother-baby pairs and increasing treatment access for HIV-exposed infants, children, and adolescents.
Supported the MOHCC to decentralize paediatric ART services from District Hospitals to Primary Health Care facilities.
Strengthened the capacity of the primary health care delivery system to initiate early infant diagnosis and to integrate paediatric HIV care and treatment.