www.aidsknowledgehub.orgRegional Knowledge Hub for the Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS in Eurasia

Regional Knowledge Hub for the Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS:

Ukrainian and other Affiliate Activities

May 2006

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Background• Purpose of Knowledge Hub: Develop regional framework and affiliated national training

and technical assistance capacity to help insure the availability of high quality, sustainable HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs throughout Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

• Start-up and operational support provided by GTZ - BACKUP Initiative/ WHO and AIHA. AIHA course materials development and adaptation supported by WHO, USAID and strategic partners.

• Part of Regional Knowledge Hub Network including Regional Knowledge Hub for Secondary Surveillance (Zagreb, Croatia) and Regional Knowledge Hub for Harm Reduction (Vilnius, Lithuania).

• Ukrainian Hub Project: Established in January 2004 through MOU with Ukrainian MOH, National AIDS Center and Kiev Medical Academy for Post Graduate Education (KMAPE). The MOU establishes the Knowledge Hub as a coordinating mechanism for HIV/AIDS-related capacity building and training in Ukraine under the auspices of the Ukrainian MOH. National, regional and global strategic partners provide in-kind resources, contributions, and hundreds of hours of professional expertise.

• Russian Hub Project: currently in development with selected clinical sites and educational institutions in St. Petersburg.

• Implementing Partner: American International Health Alliance (AIHA).

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Background: AIHA• Implementing Partner: American International Health Alliance (AIHA)

through 2003 Memorandum of Understanding between AIHA and WHO to create regional Hub and national affiliates.

• Builds on extensive AIHA experience in all countries of NIS region (including Ukraine) since 1992 in areas of: hospital and health systems quality, services and management; women’s health; primary care and family medicine; emergency and disaster medicine; neonatal resuscitation and obstetrical practice; infection control; TB control; healthy communities and public health; chronic disease prevention and treatment and HIV/AIDS (including PMTCT; care and

treatment).

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Background: AIHA (Cont’d)• Complemented by current AIHA HIV/AIDS related capacity building activities in NIS:

– PMTCT Center of Excellence in Odessa Ukraine (USAID-Washington funded)– PMTCT replication and scale-up in 8 oblasts in Ukraine (USAID-Kiev funded)– PMTCT replication and scale-up in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (USAID-Almaty funded)– PMTCT strategy development and implementation in Georgia and Azerbaijan (USAID-Washington/Tbilisi funded)– Comprehensive HIV/AIDS Care, Treatment and Prevention programs in 4 priority oblasts in the Russian Federation (USAID-Moscow funded)– Establishment of Russian Federation Affiliates of Knowledge Hub (USAID-Moscow funded)– Development of improved curricula and training for 3rd Country nationals in the Russian Federation (USAID-Moscow funded).

• Complemented by AIHA HIV/AIDS related capacity building in Africa and the Caribbean supported by US Department of Health and Human Services and PEPFAR.

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Regional Knowledge Hub for the Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS: Focus

• Assist countries to develop and implement national HIV/AIDS care and treatment plans and related capacity building strategies.

• Develop and carry out training programs, including didactic/clinical (knowledge and practice based) and on-site mentoring and clinical fellowships (skills-based)

• Foster the development of education and training curricula and the capability of affiliated faculty and institutions throughout the region

• Develop and maintain web-based information and continuing education resources for health care professionals; translate, adapt and disseminate tools, guidelines and protocols, clinical pathways and best practice materials.

• Develop and maintain a “collaborative community” for care givers to share their experience, participate in research, establish and maintain standards of care for their patients and communities.

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Knowledge Hub Ukraine: Strategy and Approach• Strategically Designed in collaboration with Ukrainian partners and international experts to

support an effective national ART scale-up strategy (March, 2004).• Target audience: multidisciplinary teams drawn from both the health sector and relevant

NGO’s, selected by national stakeholders in accordance with the MOH; responsible for scale-up of services.

• Faculty: international and national multidisciplinary teams with proven records of clinical excellence and adult learning.

• Training materials: based on WHO and relevant national recommendations; evidence based but adapted to regional resource levels and organizational structures; active input and review by key international and national stakeholders.

• Teaching methods: based on adult learning techniques, combination of didactical and bed-side; emphasis on practical, results oriented training.

• Quality control system: knowledge assessment test during trainings (pre/post), on-site mentoring; on-going assessment process.

• National certification: currently through KMAPE for physicians on adult and pediatric ART after completion of a series of Knowledge Hub trainings. Planned for nurses and other health professionals in the future.

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Knowledge Hub for the Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS: Courses

• Initiation of Pediatric Antiretroviral Therapy• Pediatric Antiretroviral Therapy Onsite Mentoring• Advanced Pediatric Antiretroviral Therapy and Opportunistic Infections Management • Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy for Adults • Adult Antiretroviral Therapy Onsite Mentoring• Advanced Antiretroviral Therapy for Adults and Opportunistic Infections Management • Initiation of Antiretroviral Therapy for Adults in Correctional Settings • Adult Antiretroviral Therapy Onsite Mentoring in Correctional Settings • Advanced Antiretroviral Therapy for Adults and Opportunistic Infections Management

in Correctional Settings (being developed)• Antiretroviral Therapy During Pregnancy• HIV/AIDS Nursing • HIV/AIDS Clinic Administration and Management • HIV/AIDS Palliative Care • Laboratory Monitoring of HIV Infection and Antiretroviral Therapy

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Knowledge Hub for the Care and Treatment of HIV/AIDS: Courses (Cont’d)

• Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT): General Knowledge (WHO/USG training course adapted to incorporate country-specific needs)

• PMTCT: HIV Testing and Counseling• PMTCT: Pediatric Issues• PMTCT: Obstetrics and Gynecology• PMTCT for Decision Makers• HIV/TB Co-Infection• ART for IDUs on substitution therapy (being

developed)

• Description of the courses is available at the Knowledge Hub web site: www.aidsknowledgehub.org

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Key Results: Delivery of Training Courses/Ukraine• Conducted 31 training courses for Ukrainian caregivers as of May 1,

2006:• developed/adapted 20 distinct course curricula with related training

materials to meet specific scale-up needs in Ukraine. • Trained 766 healthcare participants from 24 Ukrainian regions• Trained all health care teams providing ARV therapy in Ukraine to

over 3,200 PLWHA.• 76 physicians received national certificates from KMAPE on adult and

pediatric ART.• Trainings were funded by the International HIV/AIDS Alliance’s,

GFATM Principal Recipient in Ukraine, and UNICEF/Ukraine.

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Target Audience for Training Courses in Ukraine

41%

28%

20%4% 7%

Physicians

Nurses

Social Workers

LaboratorySpecialists

Administrators

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Key Results: Delivery of Training Courses to Other NIS Countries

• Conducted 28 training activities for Azeri, Kazakh, Moldova, Russian, Tadjik and Uzbek caregivers (as of May 1, 2006).

• Trained 666 healthcare participants from 7 countries.

• Trainings were funded by the GFATM country programs, UNICEF/Russia, WHO and USAID.

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Upcoming Activities: Ukraine

• Under the contract with International HIV/AIDS Alliance (January-September 2006), GFATM PR in Ukraine, Regional Knowledge Hub will conduct the following courses:– TB/HIV coinfection: June, Kiev.– ART for IDUs on substitution therapy: July, Odessa.– Training for the trainers on basic ART: July, Kiev.– Regional trainings on basic ART for infectionists: September,

Ukraine.– HIV/AIDS and cross-cooperation for TB chief physicians:

September, Kiev.

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Further Steps

• Human capacity building for providing HIV/AIDS care and treatment services in the region (training of trainers, trainings for caregivers).

• Regular updates of training materials.

• Sharing experience with national and international partners in order to improve HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs in the region.

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For more information about theRegional Knowledge Hub ---

• www.aidsknowledgehub.org• www.aiha.com• www.eurasiahealth.org