CQUIN network countries have identified community engagement as a pillar for successful DSD program implementation.

Launched in November 2018, the Community Engagement Community of Practice (CoP), also known as the Community Advocacy Network (CAN), ensures the participation of recipients of care living with HIV in the CQUIN network and country HIV program activities. The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), which co-convenes this CoP with ICAP, advocates for recipients of care to participate in the design and implementation of national strategies, policies, and decisions on their country’s HIV response.
The goal of the CoP is also to empower the recipient of 

care community to monitor national program coverage to ensure that it adequately reflects and responds to their lived realities and needs.

Community of Practice

Each of the 21 CQUIN member countries has a nominated representative from a national or regional network of people living with HIV or key, vulnerable, and priority populations in the community of practice.

The CoP ensures that the HIV community representatives are engaged and participate in all CQUIN network activities.

Ms. Nadia Rafif and Dr. Bactrin Killingo from ITPC are the technical leads, supported by Dr. Rudo Kuwengwa, CQUIN’s regional clinical advisor.

    Activities

    CoP activities include:

    • Facilitating meetings between the CoP members by convening virtual dialogue and exchange sessions
    • Convening pre-meetings for the CoP prior to all CQUIN network meetings
    • Scaling up the collection and analysis of data with the CoP’s community engagement tracking tool in CQUIN member countries. The results of the data collection are presented at CQUIN annual meetings
    • Providing ad-hoc expertise and support to the activities of the community advocacy network and other CQUIN communities of practice. For example, giving feedback on CQUIN-developed tools and frameworks.

      Resources

      • In November 2019, the group drafted a Community Engagement Framework, which was presented at the 3rd CQUIN Annual Meeting
      • In 2020-2021, the CoP developed and piloted an accompanying Community Engagement Monitoring Toolkit (available in English, French, and Portuguese) to enable stakeholders to assess the extent of community engagement in DSD-related policy, implementation, and evaluation.
        • Initial results from the CE Assessment Toolkit were presented here at CQUIN’s 5th annual meeting.
        • In August 2023, the group published a final report on the rollout of the Community Engagement Tracking tool and framework, available here and on the ITPC website.
      • Additionally, together with the Quality Management and Monitoring and Evaluation communities of practice, the CoP co-created a Recipient of Care Satisfaction Decision Matrix and Toolkit to provide network countries with best practices for assessing and improving recipient of care satisfaction.

        Webinars

        Joint Community of Practice Webinar on the Recipient of Care Satisfaction Survey Toolkit
        Centering Recipients of Care: Assessing and Improving Satisfaction within DSD Programs: Recorded, August 3, 2023

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