Know Your HIV/AIDS Response: A Pilot Test of a New Service Mapping Tool Kit in Greater Accra, Ghana

Author(s): Sutherland E, Laar A, Ghana KYR Study Group

Year: 2014

Abstract:

“Knowing” an HIV response in a country is a complex undertaking. This effort requires knowing to the level of a district (or similar local administrative unit) what key implementers in all sectors (government, nongovernment, public, and private) are working against HIV, what populations they serve, what is the reach of these programs, and what specific types of interventions they are implementing. We pilot tested a set of newly developed data collection tools (referred to as the Know Your HIV Response or KYR) in the Greater Accra region of Ghana at the request of the government of Ghana. Data were collected on HIV programming being undertaken in each of the 16 metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra region of Ghana. As a prevention tool, the KYR tools address three key concepts that are critical for an improved understanding of the HIV-prevention response (location, scale, and needs). Analysis and dissemination of data includes the production of maps of HIV services using geographic information system technology. Overall, the data generated from this pilot exercise allows for mapping and understanding of the scope and scale of the HIV-prevention response at the regional level and identifies challenges and opportunities for scaling the exercise nationally. Ultimately, the study provides information needed to guide prioritization, and/or adjustment of the national HIV-prevention programs and interventions being carried out in the Greater Accra region.