Over 150 stakeholders and partners met in person for the first time in more than two years for CQUIN’s Delivering Quality at Scale in Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD) Programs workshop.
Participants included ministry of health representatives from network member countries, national networks of people living with HIV, implementers, global partners from the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Treatment and Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), the International AIDS Society (IAS), the President’s Emergency Fund for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), the South-to-South HIV prevention learning network (SSLN), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, among others.
From April 26-29, 2022, CQUIN facilitated participant discussions and country sharing of DSD quality standards, indicators, and assessments. Plenary presentations, panel discussions, and multiple breakout sessions fostered the exchange of information, active participation, and robust country-to-country learning. Cross-cutting content included the importance of developing quality standards and indicators specific to DSD models, as opposed to HIV treatment more broadly. Focused sessions included deeper dives into defining, measuring, and improving the quality of advanced HIV disease services, HIV services for key populations, TB/HIV services, integrated HIV and family planning/MCH services, differentiated HIV testing services, and client satisfaction.
“One of the key objectives of this meeting is to equip countries with clear action plans that will support them to define DSD-specific quality standards, develop indicators and tools to assess the quality of DSD models, and use quality improvement methods to track, monitor, and enhance DSD performance to address any gaps in quality care delivery,” said Martin Msukwa, MPH, BSN, CQUIN regional advisor and CQUIN’s DSD quality stream of work lead.
In her opening remarks, Solange Baptiste, executive director of the International Treatment and Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and CQUIN advisory group member, emphasized the involvement of recipients of care in quality DSD implementation. “We need to make sure we think of what recipients of care would appreciate and leverage their expertise regarding quality,” Ms. Baptiste said.
Elsie Ayeh, a recipient of care and president of the Ghana Network of Persons Living with HIV (NAP+), expressed her appreciation for the learning experiences at the meeting. “This meeting has made me see the importance of involving us, the recipients of care, at every stage. This is a good beginning for Ghana and other countries to achieve quality DSD and epidemic control,” said Ms. Ayeh.
In her closing remarks, Lilian Mworeko, executive director for the International Community of Women Living with HIV in Eastern Africa, charged all stakeholders at the meeting to use the lessons learned to improve HIV services for recipients of care.
This meeting is the second one CQUIN has convened to focus on quality implementation in DSD. The first meeting took place in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 2019.
