Nutrition and HIV

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation

Year: 2016

Abstract:

PEPFAR 3.0 focuses on sustainable control of the HIV epidemic and delivering on the promise of an AIDS-free generation. The plan supports a data-driven approach to control, with strategic investment in high-impact interventions for populations at highest risk in areas of greatest HIV incidence. Ambitious targets set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have been identified as markers of this plan’s success: by 2020, 90 percent of people living with HIV (PLHIV) will know their status, 90 percent of those diagnosed will be receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART), and 90 percent of those on ART will achieve viral suppression.

The PEPFAR-supported NACS framework was created to increase the inclusion of nutrition services in routine healthcare delivery at the facility and community level. PEPFAR has also worked closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) in efforts such as the Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS) to expand pregnant and breastfeeding women’s access to lifelong ART (Option B+) for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) and to increase maternal, infant, and child nutrition through the optimal uptake of WHO’s 2010 breastfeeding guidelines.

To build on these advances, rigorous and robust methods are needed to measure and synthesize data, strengthen technical capacity, harness cost-effective solutions, reach more people with effective programs, and share knowledge in timely and productive ways. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with its partners, is leading initiatives to provide technical guidance and support for countries to achieve global nutrition and HIV goals. MEASURE Evaluation is well equipped to lead USAID’s efforts in these areas.