Targeted Behavior Change Communication Interventions Increased Service Uptake amongst Most At Risk Populations

This poster presentation for the International SBCC Summit 2016, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, February 8-10, describes the MULU/MARPs (Most-at-Risk-Populations) HIV Prevention Project, began in 2012, implemented by Population Service International (PSI)/Ethiopia with support from PEPFAR/USAID. The project has the goal of contributing to the Ethiopian national goal of reducing new HIV infections among the general population by 50% by the end of 2017. "The project provides a package of combination HIV prevention services targeting FSWs [female sex workers] and other priority populations in 168 towns. Behavior change communication (BCC), biomedical, and structural interventions are the pillars of the project."

Programme activities include the following:

• "For each target group, the project has designed a peer guide, training curriculum, and reporting system that consider the unique needs of the target population;
•  MARPs participate in group discussions of 6-10 sessions, covering topics related to HIV/AIDS and sexual health;
•  After completion, FSWs are referred to a one-to-one program in which peer educator’s follow-up on an individual level to encourage risk reduction and facilitate ongoing access to clinical services;
• In addition, community-wide events are conducted in hotspot areas to promote changes in community values;
• Data on program implementation is captured monthly using DHIS2. [District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2) The DHIS 2 is a tool for collection, validation, analysis, and presentation of aggregate statistical data, tailored to integrated health information management activities. DHIS 2 is developed by the Health Information Systems Programme (HISP).]”

"In the past three years, more than 314,313 MARPs (158,372 FSWs and 155,941 other priority populations) were reached reached with the BCC package," implying that:

• "HIV prevention programs should be supported with BCC strategies that are specifically designed for target groups.
• The MARPs-friendly approach that considers the unique characteristics of each group reaches more targets and achieves the intended change of increasing risk perceptions and increasing service uptake."

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Click here to view the second poster

Click here to view the third poster