Texas Children's Global Health Baylor Foundation Uganda

Baylor Foundation Uganda supported 145 health facilities to identify, link and retain people living with HIV on treatment in the region. The team scaled up surge activities from 49 sites to 85 health facilities. This was aimed at bridging the gap in achievement of the newly initiated on ART experienced in the year, with associated gaps in linkage to care and adherence to treatment. At the end of the year, 94% of clients were linked to care and 91% achieved good adherence. Our team worked tirelessly alongside health workers and community mobilisers to conduct targeted testing in the health facilities and outreaches to the hotspots in the communities, always ensuring immediate linkage of newly identified positives to care and immediate initiation on ART.

The program supported by Global Fund / TASO has successfully been running for 14 months in 19 districts across Uganda. The project aims to strengthen Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV, strengthen Prevention for Adolescents and Youth in and out of school, and scale-up interventions that reduce human rights related barriers that reduce access to HIV services. In line with the project priorities, our team, using a community-driven intervention, has focused on the Key Affected/ Most-At-Risk populations, Adolescents and Youth in and out of school, and pregnant women through behavioral change and communication campaigns

Baylor Foundation Uganda’s Orphans and other Vulnerable Children program in the Fort Portal region, through the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief stayed strong and continued to improve the health and well-being of children living with and affected by HIV. The OVC program, through a multi-sectoral approach, continued to strengthen the capacity of 20 Community Based Organizations as sub- awardees and a network of 267-para social workers as community volunteers in the 74 sub-counties of the six districts of Bunyangabu, Kabarole, Kamwenge, Kasese, Kyegegwa and Kyenjojo. These CBOs and community volunteers continued providing and linking beneficiaries to an array of quality services under the four domains (healthy, safe, stable and schooled) to progress children and their primary caregivers to a minimum level of stability, including knowing their HIV status and achieving viral suppression. The program served 38,695 OVC.

Baylor Foundation Uganda with its ACE-Fort project has contributed significantly to the testing and linkage of people to care by improving intensified TB case finding, management of TB/HIV co-infection and TB treatment outcomes. Baylor Foundation Uganda improved its TB case notification in Fort Portal region through a number of activities, including rolling out the revised comprehensive TB curriculum in 140 health facilities providing ART, conducting 100-days TB preventive Therapy scale up, and conducting mentorship and supportive supervision at 97 districts TB treatment units.

The call center, an initiative of the Ministry of Health (MoH), with support from CDC and Baylor Foundation Uganda, has continued to offer technical support and consultations to health workers all over the country in regards to HIV/AIDS/TB treatment and management. The center also offers a 24/7 service to clients for Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in Baylor Foundation Uganda supported region of Fort Portal region and is utilized for HIV-self testing and recruitment in prevention studies. In total, the Call Center received 3,920 calls over the year from both health workers and clients.