"Moon light HCT" accelerating HIV prevention among sex workers among the Kampala City Urban Poor
Moon light HCT to meet the HIV/AIDS management needs for highly stigmatized urban poor population as well as vulnerable population including sex workers.
About You
About You
About Your Organization
Organization Name
SORAK Development Agency
Organization Website
Organization Country
Uganda, KMP, Kampala
Country where this project is creating social impact
Uganda, KMP, Kampala
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
Has the organization received awards or honors? Please tell us about them
Yes our organization has been recognized as one of those with best practices in TB/HIV prevention at grass root level(http://www.stoptb.org/global/awards/cfcs/bp5.asp)
References - Please provide two references with a two-sentence biography, email address, and phone number for each
1- Jenniffer Dietrich,Technical Officer- STOP TB Partnership -Challenge Facility for Civil Society;contact: email;dietrichj@who.int or telephone +41 22 791 5531).
2- Mulumba Moses,Executive Director Centre For health Human Rights and Development,email ;info@cehurd.org,tel+256 414523283
The information you provide here will be used to fill in any parts of your profile that have been left blank, such as interests, organization information, and website. No contact information will be made public. Please uncheck here if you do not want this to happen..
Innovation
Select the stage that best applies to your solution
Start-Up (a pilot that has just begun operating)
How long have you been in operation?
Operating for 1‐5 years
The Need: What problem are you trying to solve?
There is a growing concern and demand for HIV/AIDS prevention in Uganda.The rate at which HCT is moving does not much the need and demand among sex workers of Kampala Urban poor communities.The urban poor spend much of their day time in informal trade to earn a subsistence income.No time unless in the evening hours when retiring home can this category of the population have HCT.
The fear and stigma hinder many sex workers and urban slum dwellers in coming out during day time to screen for HIV/AIDS,yet they explicitly demand for it.Sex workers sleep during day time as they have to 'work' at night.
Providing HCT under the cover of deem light of the moon accompanied by edutainment has proved productive in ensuring a high reach for vulnerable population accessing HCT.
The Solution: What is your solution? Be specific!
The solution to the high demand and meeting the unmet need for HCT among sex workers and urban poor is to provide HCT in the evenings,"Moonlight HCT".This will be accompanied with edutainment at strategic locations like road junctions,open grounds and near market centers.Clients are screened and are able to access results in less than 20 minutes including counseling.
SORAK will also undertake home visits to clients found positive with HIV/AIDS;Carryout psychosocial support and post testing counseling.
Clients will also be provided with a directory of HIV/AIDS service points from where positive persons will be linked to an effective referral system.
The Model: Walk us through a specific example of how your solution makes a difference; include your primary activities
'Moon light HCT' is unique and different approach to provision of HCT to vulnerable,highly stigmatized,and poor people who have to make a choice between earning a cent for a days survival and going to government health facility and wait for more than 3 hours waiting for HCT.
Moon light HCT is done between 6.00 pm -10.00 pm in the evening when all our targeted population are either retreating back to their congested dwellings.
This is also the time when sex workers are setting off for work.
For sex workers,HCT at this time comes at the right time when they seem to be 'caught in the act' i.e HCT to them provides a timely and instant reminder before they get involved in their trade.
Once rapid testing is applied many persons are reached at a time.
HIV/AIDS suspects come in freely under the cover of the evening darkness as they would not freely go to health units where they could be seen by other people who they may not have know whether they have also sought HCT.
Clients also have a feeling that even the counselor has not effectively recognized them and hence think that their private and confidentiality is protected.
By blending Moon light HCT with edutainment makes it attractive and relaxing and the persons goes through the trauma of HIV/AIDS screening.
HIV/AIDS Positive clients will trust the referral networks provided since they will have a source of reference to our counselors who will have encouraged them to seek any appropriate HIV/AIDS service.
The Marketplace: Who are your peers and competitors? Identify others also working to address the needs you are and what differentiates you from them. What challenges could these players pose to your success or growth?
Our major peers and partners include Uganda Cares and AIDS information center.
We are different from them in that they are big and have a wider reach -country presence which make them fail to reach and meet details and solve intricacies associated with unique and vulnerable population.
SORAK is has the niche and grasp of working with grass root communities with time and an army of community based volunteer foot soldiers capable of mobilizing these highly suspicious urban population.
No big challenge is anticipated from these players other than overshadowing our impact.Our success may be attributed to them since they are big and have been in the HIV/AIDS programmes for long.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Social Impact
Founding Story: We want to hear about your "Aha!" moment. Share the story of where and when the founder(s) saw this solution's potential to change the world.
SORAK got involved in HCT among both the rural(Mubende) and urban poor(Kawempe-Kampala district) communities.
It was easy to mobilize and reach rural communities for HCT but it turned out to be an uphill task to undertake HCT among urban settings apart from organized institutions like schools.
We tried door to door campaign in rural areas it worked,but still meet glaring challenges in the the urban setting.
During day time We could screen an average of 90 persons during the day(8.00 am to 5.00pm);
On day time caught us and we decided to continue with HCT beyond 5.00pm because we had to hint a target.
Aha! what a surprise in a space of 3 hours (between 6.00 pm -8. 00 pm) the total number of persons screened for HIV/AIDS was 3 times more than those whom we had screen for all day long.By the time we closed at 10.00 pm,more and more were still coming.We had discovered the trick and formula.Since then we have always preferred evening HCT which we have named 'Moonlight HCT'
Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
This intervention aims at improving access to HIV/AIDS services among under-served and vulnerable urban poor communities.
Specifically this initiative will strive to achieve;
-Undertake HCT to 20,000 vulnerable urban poor person within 6 months.
-Provide psychosocial care and support and treatment to at least 30% of HIV/AIDS positive clients with 12 months of the intervention.
-Develop relevant and appropriate referral system for effective management of HIV/AIDS among HIV/AIDS positive persons.
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
1. Young people are now more aware of HIV and AIDS related information
2. Improved knowledge of condom use.
3. Improved awareness on the importance of ARVs
4. Led to increased Knowledge On Cross Generational Sex and its problems among young persons
5. Increased knowledge of HIV and AIDS prevalence across different age groups
6. Improved knowledge on HCT and the importance of ABC strategy
7. Improved Knowledge on Correct Procedure of HIV & AIDS testing
8. Improved Knowledge on how HIV and AIDS is Spread
9. Created more awareness on PMTCT,leading to increased numbers of women seeking PMTCT in government health facilities
10. Formation of new HIV and AIDS clubs in schools
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
It is anticipated the this project will lead to the following in the next five years;
1- Reduced incidence of HIV/AIDS among sex workers
2- Behavioral change and positive attitude to safer sex as well as effective sex safer sex negotiation among vulnerable girls and women
3-Better health and treatment seeking behavior for HIV/AIDS and opportunistic infections including TB,STIs among HIV/AIDS positive persons
4- Reduced spreading of HIV/AIDS both through sex and from mother to children
5- Improved general health among urban poor communities.
6-Reduction in domestic and gender-based violence arising from the effect of HIV/AIDS among married couples.
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Have 10,000 urban poor provided with HCT
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your six-month milestone
Task 1
Mobilise communities and procure test kits
Task 2
Undertake moon light HCT at selected and appropriate sites/locations
Task 3
Train 50 community based counsellor volunteers
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
20,000 Urban poor provided with HCT.
Identify three major tasks you will have to complete to reach your 12-month milestone
Task 1
Support to routine HCT at selected sites
Task 2
Support to routine home visits to HIV/AIDS positive clients
Task 3
Develop and distribute an HIV/AIDS service points directory to all HIV/AIDS positive persons and community counsellors
Sustainability
Tell us about your partnerships
We currently have partnership with the following;
-STOP TB PARTNERSHIP OF WHO-our donor
-We have partnership with Centre for health Human rights and development-implementing partner.
-Kampala and Mubende district local governments-implementing partners;and providers of support supervision and monitoring
-Several community based youth and women groups-implementing partners
-Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation-Secure the Future.-donor
-Akiba Uhaki Foundation of Kenya-donor
Are you currently targeting other specific populations, locations, or markets for your innovation? If so, where and why?
No we want to continue with our innovation among the urban poor of Kampala City.This might later be replicated in order urban areas of Uganda.
What type of operating environment and internal organizational factors make your innovation successful?
-Our staff are grounded and experienced with working in the proposed urban environment.Some of them reside and live with the targeted population.
-The timing and location of activities at appropriate locations near and within the residence of the targeted population makes our innovation a success.
- Lastly our staff are down to earth experience social workers with a niche in community mobilization and counseling.
Please elaborate on any needs or offers you have mentioned above and/or suggest categories of support that aren't specified within the list
We may need investment of treatment delivery services in order to meet the demand for ART that may arise from HCT.
The media enables us to share the progress of our intervention as well as mobilizing more clients and potentially attract other possible supporters.
We would be willing to offer primary research data to any partners who would be willing to learn and share our innovation.
 | 15 weeks agoMuhammad Kyeyune updated this Competition Entry. |
| 15 weeks agoMuhammad Kyeyune submitted this idea. |
