Community engagement

To reach global pediatric HIV targets, efforts must extend beyond clinic doors. Community-based organisations (CBOs), faith-based organisations (FBOs) and places of worship can play a pivotal role in accelerating and expanding services. However, for their contribution to be amplified, they must be engaged as integral implementing partners in service delivery and effectively linked to the health system. A systematic approach is required to formally establish and resource these linkages, as well as embed them in district planning and coordination.

This is part of a series of 12 policy briefs by the Child Survival Working Group on scaling up key interventions for children and adolescents living with HIV. Learn more. 

The Population Council and partners developed this toolkit to help build relevant, tailored and positive programmes for adolescent girls through the asset-building approach helps. The Building Assets Toolkit introduces policymakers and programme planners to this approach, offers resources and provides examples. Find additional content including customisable asset cards and worksheet here. 

This qualitative rapid appraisal study from researchers at the South African Medical Research Council and partners explores how community cadres provide links to health facilities and supports HIV client support. The study maps the roles taken by the community cadres as well as challenges and opportunities.

This poster presented at ICASA 2017 highlights a promising intervention to improve client retention in HIV programmes. Beginning in 2015 in Malawi, a collaboration between the Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and UNC-Project Malawi introduced a community-based Expert Client (EC) intervention with a particular focus on HIV-exposed infants and mothers enrolled in the national PMTCT programme.

UNICEF Learning Collaborative,Summary of Selected Research Articles
January - March 2018

This case study is part of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) ALL IN Initiative on Kenya's revision of tools/systems for disaggregation to strengthen adolescent strategic information.

This article is part of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) ALL IN Blog Series on Rwanda's operational plan for adolescent HIV and sexual and reproductive health

This article is part of the Eastern and Southern Africa (ESA) ALL IN Blog Series on catalyzing adolescent participation around HIV in Mozambique. 

Appel pour l’accélération de l’élimination de la transmission mère-enfant du VIH et le traitement antirétroviral chez l’enfant en Afrique de l’ouest et du centre d’ici 2020

Call for the acceleration of the elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission and antiretroviral treatment for children in West and Central Africa by 2020

This WHO’s Evidence Brief highlights some of the key points of discussion during the ESA regional consultation on HIV prevention and sexual and reproductive health and rights for Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) held in Windhoek on 1-3 February. The Evidence Brief is now available here.