How Collaborative Efforts Led to Better HIV Services and Outcomes in Eastern Uganda

The USAID Regional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) Activity, implemented by IntraHealth International and its partners, supports the government of Uganda to expand access to and use of high-quality health services in the country’s Eastern region and Karamoja.

In March 2018, the Ministry of Health introduced the "Surge" strategy as part of  PEPFAR  efforts to find new HIV positives and enroll them in care and treatment. To support this intervention, RHITES-E formed Surge teams to increase HIV testing and counseling services so that 90% of people living with HIV (PLHIV) will know their sero status and are linked to treatment in all PEPFAR ART sites. RHITES-E used the CLA approach to facilitate collaboration with key stakeholders that included both technical and support teams from the health facilities, implementing partners, civil society organizations (CSOs) and the USAID mission to design and implement a surge workplan to boost HIV services in the eastern region.