Snapshots of Regional Distance Learning Seminars on National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment

I-TECH India supported National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in the dissemination of the National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment to all ART centres across the country through a series of distance learning seminars conducted at the regional level between December 2022 to June 2023. These weekly sessions were conducted across four regions in collaboration with the Centres of Excellence in HIV Care and Paediatric Centres of Excellence in HIV Care and were facilitated by 54 technical and public health experts. A total of 23 topics were covered over 92 sessions, reaching around 31,500 healthcare providers of ART centres across the country.

The National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment 2021 provides a comprehensive set of recommendations for HIV management in adults and children geared to achieve the 95-95-95 targets by 2030 including recent amendments and changes in treatment and newer innovations. The guidelines are primarily intended for medical officers of ART centres across the country and clinicians in the public or private sectors who tend to provide services to the people living with HIV (PLHIV). These guidelines are used as a reference manual for in-service health provider education and training; as a source of up-to-date, evidence-based recommendations; and as a self-education tool for health care providers on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

IAS 2022 Conference (Montreal, Canada)

The 24th International AIDS Conference (IAS) was held from 29 July – 02 August 2022 at Montreal, Canada. More than 12500 delegates including researchers, program specialists, community activists, donors and stakeholders attended the conference which focused on next generation HIV response through scientific research, emphasis on dialogues with communities who are left behind, sustainable finance discussions and understanding the success stories on prevention and care across the globe.

Ms Abhina Aher, Transgender Activist & Technical Expert on Key Population, I-TECH India participated in the conference. She was part of the panel discussion for session on youth engagement on SRHR and HIV integration. Contributions from Ms Abhina on sustainable financing were also acknowledged during the closing ceremony. I-TECH India presented five e-posters on differentiated service delivery in closed settings; Comprehensive healthcare model for Transgender population; Technology-enabled expert clinical initiative; Single window approach for screening and management of hypertension among PLHIV; and Engaging peer networks in Opioid Overdose Response.

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SOCH training (Guwahati, Assam)

I-TECH India, in coordination with NACO, conducted the training workshop on Strengthening Integrated Information Management Systems for NE region. The training focused on ‘SOCH—Strengthening Overall Care for HIV Beneficiaries,’ a beneficiary-centric, web- and mobile-based system integrated with other MOHFW IT systems. The system will capture inventory and service delivery information pertaining to individual beneficiaries throughout the HIV continuum, creating a centralized repository of electronic health records and facilitating forecasting, inventory planning, and clinical decision support. A total of 113 participants attended this workshop including officials from NACO, SACS (Odisha, West Bengal and 8 NE states) and partner organisations.
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Expanding Private Sector Engagement in Mumbai

Early diagnosis of HIV, as well as linkage to appropriate prevention and treatment services is crucial to control the spread of HIV. I-TECH India, in collaboration with Mumbai Districts AIDS Control Society (MDACS), has formalized an agreement with four laboratories in the private sector located at places convenient to key population (KP) clients in Mumbai. These laboratories will provide HIV and sexually transmitted infection testing services to KP clients at subsidized rates, thus improving service uptake and early detection.
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Distance Learning Seminar on National Operational Guidelines for ART services

The recently launched National Operational Guidelines for Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Services provides detailed standard operating procedures for provision of care as well as for planning, implementing, and monitoring the program for effective service delivery. I-TECH India, in coordination with CDC India, facilitated the revision of the guidelines and supported NACO to disseminate the guidelines to healthcare providers at the ART centers through a series of national and regional distance learning seminars. 23 sessions were held which were facilitated by program experts from NACO, CDC India and I-TECH India in English, Hindi, and regional languages (Tamil and Telugu) reaching around 24,000 healthcare providers across the country.
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Distance Learning Seminar on National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment

I-TECH India supported NACO in updating the national technical guidelines for HIV care and treatment. These National Guidelines for HIV Care and Treatment are a compilation of the revised treatment options for HIV positive adults, adolescents, and children and includes the latest global recommendations in HIV programme. I-TECH India continues to support NACO with the dissemination of these national guidelines through the series of Distance Learning Seminars at national level for all ART centres in the country. Till July 2022, 10 sessions have been held and 14 more sessions will be organised in the coming weeks.
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Shri. Alok Saxena, AS&DG, NACO along with other participants at the CoE consultation (Delhi)

I-TECH India and CDC India supported the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) in facilitating a two-day consultation which focused on strengthening and enhancing the existing models of centers of excellence (CoE) to meet the evolving priorities of NACP Phase V, emphasizing the adoption of an integrated approach for optimized service delivery. Programme Directors and Deputy Programme Directors from CoEs/pCoEs, officials from NACO and State AIDS Control Societies (SACS), Nodal officers and SMO from ART centers, HIV experts, and officials from partner organizations actively participated in this consultation. The findings from a digital self-assessment tool and recommendations for strengthening CoEs/pCoEs through building capacity of the treatment centers and maximizing integrated patient-centered service delivery were also shared.
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I-TECH India facilitating a session of group work during the consultation (Delhi)

I-TECH India participated and facilitated a session at the ‘National Consultation of One Stop Centre for Key and Bridge Populations in HIV care’ which focussed on concretizing the concept of one stop centers and exploring the strategies and service components in implementation of one stop centers for key and bridge population. The objective of the consultation also focussed on developing strategies for implementation of venue based integrated service delivery based on existing experience of Delhi.

Participants during the training (Mumbai)

In collaboration with Mumbai District AIDS Control Society (MDACS), I-TECH India organized a three-day training session for 76 ALHIV in Mumbai. The session’s objectives were to improve skills in effective communication, interpersonal relations, decision-making, and self-management, as well as ART adherence, nutrition, and sexual and reproductive health. A career guidance session was also organized for adolescents aged 15-17 years to provide information on the available options for higher education. A total of 56 adolescents attended the career guidance session.

Training of ICTC and DSRC counsellors on KP and disclosure counselling (Mumbai)

To fast-track index testing among key population (KP) members, it is imperative to have better understanding of KP groups, vulnerability patterns, sexual networks, barriers in accessing HIV services, and skills to encourage disclosure with sexual partners. I-TECH India facilitated three batches of one-day trainings on ‘disclosure’ for 72 counsellors from ICTC and DSRC centers.