Rapid and Effective Action Combatting HIV/AIDS (REACH) III: Umliba Loya Embili

We worked in partnership with the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education and Training, and the Deputy Prime Minister’s Office to reduce new HIV infections in adolescents, and provide supporting wrap-around services for OVC. We carry 60% of the program portfolio, reaching approximately 15,000 OVC annually in Eswatini.

We delivered a holistic, layered package of interventions that encompass both HIV prevention and impact mitigation interventions by scaling up evidence-based OVC services for vulnerable adolescents and HIV prevention services for adolescent girls and young women.

Key program elements included:

• A household-based impact mitigation intervention for vulnerable adolescents through trained home visitors and tailored care plans focused on the health, education, economic, psychosocial, and protection needs of vulnerable adolescents.
• An SBCC intervention through “safe space” social asset building clubs for in-school and out of school adolescent girls. Trained mentors deliver an evidence-based HIV and violence prevention curriculum to improve knowledge, skills, and access to HIV testing services, contraception services, condoms, and other sexual reproductive health services.
• Active referrals to youth-friendly clinical services such as HIV testing services, sexual reproductive health and family planning services, HIV care and treatment, screening for sexually transmitted infections, and VMMC.
• Protection services including education support aimed at keeping adolescents in school, birth registration and national documents for adolescents, and provision of post-abuse case management services for abuse survivors.
• Household economic strengthening and caregiver support to include saving group and small business development (WORTH), and parenting skills for caregivers.
• Support services for ALHIV to include all the previous service, plus support group clubs using a standardized curriculum, disclosure, adherence, and retention support.
• HIV prevention services for young women, including an evidence-based curriculum and active referrals for HIV testing and sexual reproductive health services, and economic strengthening services such as financial literacy, vocational training, savings groups, and small business development.