Program title: “Sustaining and scaling up the existing national responses for implementation of effective HIV/AIDS prevention activities, improving survival rates of people with advanced HIV infection by strengthening treatment and care interventions in Georgia” The Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria; Project Duration: 01.04.2014-31.12.2015

 Project Summary:

 a).Project Objectives:  HIV Prevention among most at risk population groups (People who inject drugs (PWIDs), female commercial sex workers (FSWs), Men who have sex with men (MSM) and prisoners); ensuring universal access to Antiretroviral treatment (ART) and related clinical and laboratory monitoring for People living with HIV (PLHIV); providing treatment of hepatitis C with pegilated interferon and rebaviring along with relevant clinical and laboratory monitoring to PLHIV  confected with hepatitis C virus; providing palliative care and supporting operations of self-support centers of PLHIV; scientific and operational studies for assessment of program outcomes.

 b).Project Activities:

Advocacy for development of supportive environment for implementation of HIV prevention programs (Implementation starts from Q1 of 2015);

Mobilization of PLHIV to ensure sustainability of ART (implementation starts from Q1 of 2015)

Reduction of HIV related stigma and discrimination (Implementation starts from Q1 of 2015)

Mobilization of LGBT community for HIV prevention (Implementation starts from Q1 of 2015)

Implementation of media campaign for reduction of HIV related stigma and discrimination (starts from Q1, 2015)

Needle and syringe exchange programs implementation among PWIDs, methadone substitution treatment programs implementation among opioid dependent PWIDs;

HIV prevention among FSWs, MSM and prisoners;

ART provision among AIDS patients;

Supporting ART adherence though operation of mobile units;

Providing home-based palliative care to PLHIV

Supporting operations of self-support centers of PLHIV;

Behavioral and biomarkers prevalence assessment and population size estimation studies among PWIDs;

Behavioral and biomarkers prevalence and population size estimation studies among FSWs;

Behavioral and biomarkers prevalence and population size estimation studies among MSMs;

Behavioral and biomarkers prevalence study among prisoners;

ART resistance assessment study;

HIV related stigma assessment study among health care workers

c).Expected outcomes:

Maintaining low HIV prevalence (<5%) among PWIDs and FSWs;

Stabilize HIV prevalence among MSM (<13%)

 

Program target Indicators for 2015:

Number of VCT delivered among MARPs (PWIDs, FSWs and MSM) – 24,650

Number of VCT delivered to prisoners - 3,500

Percentage of PWIDs who received minimal HIV prevention package services – 41% (18,638)

Percentage of FSWs who received minimal HIV prevention package services  - 39% (2,563)

Percentage of MSMs who received minimal HIV prevention package services – 21% (3,505)

Number of PLHIV on ARV treatment – 3,270

Number of PWIDs enrolled into OST program – 650

Number of PLHIV who received treatment for hepatitis C – 150