Improving HIV Service Delivery for Infants, Children and Adolescents: Towards a framework for collective action

In June 2019, UNICEF convened a group of about 40 global experts from 24 organizations and institutions to advance the collective thinking on paediatric HIV service delivery. The aim of this “think tank” consultation was to build consensus on the specific programme interventions that need to be scaled up to improve the quality of HIV treatment services and reach more infants, children and adolescents with these lifesaving medicines.

Participating organizations included:

Aidsfonds
Africaid-Zvandiri
African Network for the Care of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS
(ANECCA)
Baylor College of Medicine
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF)
ELMA Philanthropies
Health Innovations Kenya
FHI 360
ICAP at Columbia University
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS)
Kenya Ministry of Health
Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator (OGAC)
Pact
Pediatric-Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA)
Positive Action for Children Fund (PACF) / ViiV Healthcare
Réseau Enfants et VIH en Afrique (EVA)
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
University of Nairobi
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
World Health Organization (WHO)
World Council of Churches – Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance (WCC–EAA)
Yale University

Experts addressed the gaps in the continuum of care which are causing children to be missed before they are tested, before they are given their test results and before they are provided with lifelong treatment and care. Read more about the evidence base and the call for action in the brief above.

Paediatric Service Delivery Framework


The paediatric service delivery framework presents strategies to address bottlenecks across the continuum of care for each population: infants, children and adolescents. This includes keeping mothers who receive interventions for the prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) and their infants in care; locating missing infants, children and adolescents through family and index testing; linking those diagnosed with HIV to services; treating them with efficacious regimens and retaining them on treatment to achieve viral suppression. It describes comprehensive and targeted service delivery models, which emphasize strong linkages between testing, treatment and care, and between communities and facilities.

The framework was developed by a group of global experts who were convened by UNICEF in June 2019 to advance the collective thinking on paediatric HIV service delivery. The partnership's analysis of current evidence and specific programme interventions that need to be scaled up to improve the quality of HIV treatment services and reach more infants, children and adolescents with these lifesaving medicines is presented here.

The full framework, policy briefs and supporting worksheets are available for download (updated July 2020).

‘Cash Plus’: Linking Cash Transfers to Services and Sectors

This research brief defines 'cash plus' interventions, the menu of 'plus' components, and summarizes the evidence on their broad-ranging impacts. It further identifies lessons learned on how to make these integrated interventions work.

‘Cash plus’ interventions combine cash transfers with one or more types of complementary support. Types of complementary support can consist of (i) components that are provided as integral elements of the cash transfer intervention, such as through the provision of additional benefits or in-kind transfers, information or behaviour change communication (BCC), or psychosocial support, and (ii) components that are external to the intervention but offer explicit linkages into services provided by other sectors, such as through direct provision of access to services, or facilitating linkages to services.

RESPECT women: Preventing violence against women

RESPECT women: Preventing violence against women

Violence against women is a major public health problem rooted in gender inequality, and is a gross violation of women’s human rights affecting the lives and health of millions of women and girls. Aiming to end violence against women, a package/framework with infographics on prevention of violence against women - RESPECT – Preventing violence against women: A framework for policymakers, was developed, based on the UN framework for action to prevent violence against women from 2015 and updated new evidence.

  • R –elationship skills strengthened
  • E –mpowerment of women
  • S –ervices ensured
  • P –overty reduced
  • E –nvironments made safe
  • C –hild and adolescent abuse prevented
  • T –ransformed attitudes, beliefs, and norms