In Partnership with National AIDS Control Organization
Funding Support from the United States Agency for International Development
Background
- VHS managed the South-To-South HIV/AIDS Resource Exchange (SHARE) project through a Cooperative Agreement with the United States Agency for International Development for strengthening the national response to HIV/AIDS
- Goal was to promote bi-directional transfer of high-impact policies, practices and innovations in HIV/AIDS programs between India and sub-Saharan Africa for improved health outcomes
- VHS provided technical assistance to 12 sub-Saharan African countries, namely, Ghana, Tanzania, Zambia, Uganda, Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Togo and Benin
- Key stakeholders who benefited from this bi-directional exchange were government, industry and civil society organizations in both India and partnering sub-Saharan African countries
- SHARE project was one of the first to promote South-to-South bi-directional exchange of HIV program experiences, good practices and lessons learned
Strategies
- Facilitated sharing of good practices and management principles and promoted partnerships with selected sub-Saharan African countries
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Focus areas:
(i) Country ownership and stewardship
(ii) Prevention, care and treatment
(iii) Program support systems
- Adopted a variety of technical approaches for knowledge sharing
(i) Guided Exposure Visits
(ii) Thematic workshops
(iii) Virtual support
(iv) In-country technical experts
(v) Short-term fellowships
(vi) Joint meets
(vii) Health conclaves
Key Achievements
- Established a knowledge management unit, systems and processes in collaboration with the National AIDS Control Organization to coordinate with counterparts in sub-Saharan Africa and enable sharing of country experiences, knowledge and good practices.
- Country wise knowledge sharing was carried out systematically in four phases
(i) Assessment
(ii) Sharing
(iii) Adoption
(iv) Follow-up
- Robust mechanisms were developed for facilitating knowledge transfer to partnering countries comprising Standard Operating Procedures, knowledge exchange sites, guidelines, repository of tools, resource kit, learning packages, and manuals, collection of good practices and compendium of innovations
- Technical assistance was extended to partnering countries for adoption of good practices in local context
- Evolved country specific plans and provided technical assistance for adoption of good practices in several HIV program areas, including, outreach planning, individual tracking for enhancing the quality of Targeted Interventions, Technical Support Unit and Centre of Excellence on Anti Retro-viral Therapy (ART).
- Established three thematic learning sites in Ghana and Zambia.
- Conceptualized and executed Key Population Fellowship Program on HIV prevention to develop in-country technical experts.
- Brought together government and businesses through India-Africa Health Conclave in partnership with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) for promoting interactions among government officials and business leaders, exchanging ideas and exploring opportunities.
