In July 2024, Afrocab hosted the THRIVE Community Advisory Board (CAB) Meeting in Kampala, Uganda to formally launch the community engagement workstreams under the project. Core objectives of the meeting were:
Train THRIVE community leaders on the technical and clinical aspects of advanced HIV disease (AHD)
Review goals and objectives of the THRIVE project and establish cross-organizational collaboration structures
Collaboratively develop a comprehensive implementation plan for community engagement workstreams
CHAI -led technical sessions prepared THRIVE CAB members to play essential roles as master AHD trainers and trusted national community leaders for AHD. Presentations, followed by discussion, covered topics including:
Understanding the basics of AHD
AHD product landscape, including in-person product samples
CD4 testing and current challenges and opportunities
Stop AIDS Package of Care
Special considerations and challenges for pediatric AHD
Pediatric research overview (Penta)
DSD models
Interactive sessions evaluated retention of content, addressed gaps in knowledge, provided opportunities to answer questions, and drove agenda setting and action planning for community engagement workstreams. Participants completed pre- and post-tests to evaluate knowledge gains in AHD core competencies, with an overall increase of nearly 40%.
Meeting sessions focused on community experiences and learnings that grounded the week in practical considerations and community perspectives. Afrocab country leads presented feedback from community engagement meetings with CSOs in Uganda, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. An Afrocab and CHAI panel session shared the story and lessons learned from DTG roll-out, and experience sharing from caregivers brought real-world community perspectives and challenges for pediatric AHD under the Optimal project.
Cross-team collaboration facilitated country working groups, comprised of CHAI and Afrocab team members, to review country-specific status of national AHD programs, including key gaps and opportunities for community-driven solutions. Groups focused particularly on strategies to improve AHD outcomes in children and adolescents, as well as addressing CD4 challenges.
This fed into workplanning sessions focused on designing innovative community-led activities to increase pediatric AHD case identification, increasing AHD screening at facilities and within communities, and planning ways to strengthen AHD support at the community-level.
Coming out of the meeting, key next steps include:
Finalizing country workplans
Engaging national CSO stakeholders and MOHs to sensitize them on proposed activities
Initiating trainings with key CCSE stakeholders and national networks
This meeting was funded by Unitaid, whose generous support of the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI)-led THRIVE Project is enabling access to critical prevention, screening, and treatment commodities for advanced HIV disease to dramatically reduce mortality among adults and children living with HIV. In partnership with CHAI through this project, Afrocab is leading community and civil society engagement in collaboration with global and local stakeholders.
