HRSA's global HIV/AIDS program work is based on the World Health Organization building blocks (PDF). Our work focuses on the areas of:
- Service delivery
- Health workforce
- Stigma and anti-discrimination efforts
- Health information systems
- Access to essential medicines
- Health financing
Service delivery
Since PEPFAR’s first phase, we established health facilities to provide HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Our goal is to reach the most vulnerable, and those in remote locations throughout the world. We ensure people living with HIV get comprehensive treatment through:
- Developing and establishing national care guidelines
- Training healthcare professionals to coordinate care, share best practices, and share lessons learned
- Analyzing different service delivery models to for continuity of care
- Working with Ministries of Health to create benchmarks for accountability of facilities and providers
We implement best practices in HIV care, treatment, and prevention practices. These include voluntary medical male circumcision, HIV services for pregnant people, and task shifting.
Health workforce development
We train different health care workers, from infectious disease doctors to community health workers. We work with local institutions and host country governments to retain these health care workers. These workers are encouraged to stay in-country and may serve in rural, difficult-to-staff locations.
Through our Resilient and Responsive Health Systems Initiative, we refill the workforce of countries whose health systems were depleted. Crises like civil war, HIV/AIDS, and Ebola severely affected health care systems. We tailored our interventions to the unique needs of each country.
Stigma and anti-discrimination efforts
We decrease stigma and discrimination through PEPAR programs and activities by:
- Supporting the development of stigma and discrimination measures for PEPFAR programs
- Including stigma and discrimination measures in quality reviews of sites
- Strengthening systems to develop and support patient rights, privacy, and confidentiality
Health information systems
We have a rich experience in developing systems, structures, and controls within clinics. Now, we work with global partners to move information into electronic medical record systems. With this information, We work with grantees to analyze and interpret for decision-making. This data is also used to help identify areas for improvement.
Access to essential medicines
We meet countries at their level of need. We develop community-based models of care. Health care workers or community health workers distribute medicine. By doing this, we can increase the number of people on treatment by:
- Providing multi-month dosing
- Reducing any breaks in treatment
- Freeing up time for health care workers to see new patients or those with more complex issues
Health financing
We work with local partners to ensure seamless and transparent operations of health services. Our Resilient and Responsive Health Systems Initiative is an example. In this initiative, we used resources and local co-financing to support the health care workforce. These efforts expanded the risk pool and protected against financial swings. This provided a steady supply and retention of health care workers in the public sector.