Addressing gaps in HIV care with private providers

Four women at a clinic
SHOPS Plus staff with Patricia Mbatsha (second from left), owner-operator of the Unjani Clinic in Atteridgeville, and her Clinic Assistant Tracy Manyanga (right). This clinic is part of the Unjani Clinic Network, which was one of the case studies for the SHOPS Plus study. | Credit: Lynda Toussaint

A recent SHOPS Plus study found that to maximize private providers’ contribution to national HIV responses, donors and governments need to consider how their programs and policies directly and indirectly incentivize private organizations to scale up HIV service delivery, or crowd them out. Currently, national HIV responses in many countries are constrained by human resources for health shortages. In order to accelerate and increase the provision of quality HIV and AIDS services in these settings, it is important to leverage private health care providers. 

SHOPS Plus conducted a global literature review and collected case studies of private providers in South Africa and India. The study identified effective strategies and tools used by private providers to expand and retain staff and incorporate community-based prevention and outreach activities. It also looked at how private providers can be better engaged to support an effective health workforce for HIV.

SHOPS Plus will share the findings of this study at the 22nd International AIDS conference in the Netherlands. There, on July 23, SHOPS Plus will join HIV researchers, community leaders, and policy specialists from around the world to disseminate knowledge about HIV and further develop evidence-informed responses to the epidemic.

Exterior of a clinic
The exterior of the Unjani clinic in Atteridgeville. The Unjani Clinic Network is the only nurse-led initiative of its kind in South Africa, with 42 clinics across five provinces.  | Credit: Emma Golub

Participants will attend a variety of presentations, including invited speaker sessions, abstract sessions, and satellite symposia during the five-day conference, organized by the International AIDS Society. The theme for this year’s conference is “Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges,” which emphasizes the need for human rights-based approaches to HIV, with a particular focus on vulnerable communities and regions in which the epidemic is growing.

Learn more about our HIV work. 

 

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Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus is a five-year cooperative agreement (AID-OAA-A-15-00067) funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). This website is made possible by the generous support of the American people through USAID. The information provided on this website is not official U.S. government information and does not represent the views or positions of USAID or the U.S. government.

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