Frontline AIDS 2017-2019

In 2019, with support from Frontline AIDS:- 6.3 million marginalised and other vulnerable people were provided with sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) interventions;- 5.1 million marginalised and other vulnerable people were reached with HIV prevention programmes (of these: 680,602 were adolescent girls and young women, 275,666 people who use drugs, 240,487 sex workers, 168,609 men who have sex with men, 27,503 trans and 3,497,609 other vulnerable people)In Cambodia for example, KHANA and their implementing partners reached almost 30,000 people through peer to-peer outreach activities, including at night-time and by using social media. This approach helped HIV detection in populations that are hidden and hard to reach, including sex workers, men who have sex with men, and transgender people.- 2.6 million marginalised and other vulnerable people received an HIV test and know their results;In Ukraine, for example, Alliance for Public Health designed and developed an innovative vending machine that provides condoms, lubricant and oral HIV tests free of charge. Clients obtain a QR code online, which they then use to access the desired products from the machine. The HIV tests carry stickers with contact details for local social workers to help link people to treatment and care. 277 HIV tests were distributed from a total of five machines that were piloted in four regions during September to December 2019.- 32 000 newly diagnosed people were linked to HIV care;In India, for example, Humsafar Trust set up the country’s first integrated community based HIV treatment centre dedicated to the LGBT and hijra community. Based in Mumbai, the clinic provides HIV tests, pre- and post-test counselling, and HIV treatment in a friendly, non-judgmental environment outside of hospital settings.- 265 000 people who use drugs were reached with needle and syringe programmes and - 25.6 million needles and syringes were distributed;Frontline AIDS partnership is the largest civil society provider of harm reduction services, delivering peer-led, community-based programmes. In China, for example, AIDS Care China succeeded in convincing the government to start co-funding a crossborder opioid substitution therapy clinic in Longchuan, which is near the border with Myanmar. The clinic provides take-home methadone services to people who use drugs from both sides of the border. In Yunnan Province in southwest China, Yunnan Institute of Drug Abuse and AIDS Care China have collaborated with local police and health authorities to develop and promote a model of community based treatment for people who use drugs, rather than arresting them and sending them to a compulsory detoxification centre.- 1.4 million young people aged 10–24 years were reached with comprehensive sexuality education and/or life skills-based HIV education;In Zimbabwe, the READY to Lead programme has built the leadership and advocacy skills of young women living with HIV by recruiting 100 mentors who in turn went on to train more than 800 other young women, catalysing a generation to engage in advocacy at district and national levels. As a result, a group of young women successfully lobbied for updated national treatment guidelines. The guidelines now state that the antiretroviral drug dolutegravir (DTG), which is more effective and has fewer side effects than alternative drugs, should be made available to women as a preferred treatment option, including for women of reproductive age using any form of contraception, as per WHO treatment guidelines.- 999 community-based organisations received a pre-defined package of training. In terms of holding governments to account on HIV prevention, in 2019, Frontline AIDS worked with partners in seven countries to produce HIV prevention shadow reports. The reports provide a community assessment of how well countries are delivering against the ten-point action plan that they have agreed with the Prevention Coalition, shedding light on area often neglected by official reporting. They show that the needs of sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people and people who use drugs are frequently ignored, resulting in worryingly low levels of access to HIV prevention.In terms of bringing new evidence, for example, in collaboration with Watipa and partners in Malawi and Cambodia, Frontline AIDS released the ‘Early Warning Signs’ study looking at the impact that the gag rule is having on HIV programmes. The findings suggested that the policy had created some disruption to HIV programmes, outreach services, and referrals to safe, tailored, integrated services for marginalised people. The study also found that the gag rule had created an environment of mistrust, confusion, and isolation among civil society actors, and tightened the space for advocacy on comprehensive SRHR. It concluded that these changes had compromised access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services for marginalised people.The results above should be seen in light of the most recent data on the status of HIV/AIDS, according to reports from UNAIDS (2019), among others:- Globally, nearly 37.9 million people are living with HIV today and almost 15 million of them still cannot get life-saving treatment.- If undetected or untreated, HIV remains the most deadly sexually transmitted infection, and poor access to basic sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) increases the risk of people contracting HIV.- In 2018, 1.7 million people were newly infected with HIV and 770,000 died of AIDSrelated illnesses, with tuberculosis (TB) the leading cause of death among people living with HIV. More than half (54%) of these new infections were among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers and their clients, transgender people, people who inject drugs and their sexual partners.The risk of contracting HIV is heightened by criminalisation, marginalisation and poverty.- HIV is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age. Globally, more than 6,000 girls and women aged 15 to 24 contract HIV every week – 60% more than boys and men of the same age. HIV disproportionately affects young women and adolescent girls because of the inequality that they experience culturally, socially and economically.

The IHAA was supported with core funding of 80,21 MSEK covering 3 years (2017 – 2019) to contribute to the implementation of the IHAA strategy, which forms the basis of the IHAA response to HIV/AIDS. The overall goal of the strategy was, according to IHAA - now Frontline AIDS, to work with communities through local, national and global action on health and human rights in order to respond to HIV/AIDS. The beneficiaries are people living with HIV (PLHIV), their partners and families, men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender people (TG), people who use drugs (PWUD), people who sell or buy sex (SW), children affected by HIV and AIDS, 4 and displaced people and prisoners. The intention was that the beneficiaries will have increased access to quality HIV/AIDS, health and SRHR programs and through advocacy work leading to inclusive and engaged societies able to exercise their human rights and SRHR regardless of gender, age or sexual orientation. Through the programmatic and organizational development support was provided to IHAA’s 34 Linking Organizations, and in turn to the over 2000 CBOs supported by the LOs (and regional entities), CBOs according to IHAA benefit by becoming stronger, more connected and effective elements of health systems. The intention was that the CBOs will also benefit from the emphasis on further developing southern leadership and continuing to build a stronger IHAA partnership. A wider group of global stakeholder benefit, according to IHAA, from the intended achievements as a result of the implementation of the strategy as it contributes to the overall goal of working with communities through local, national and global action on health and human rights in the response against HIV/AIDS. The IHAA states that it takes a rights based and participatory approach. This entails that the IHAA continue to ensure that the beneficiaries are involved in designing, delivering and evaluating programs and are empowered to advocate for their rights. This  mean working to promote and create non-discriminatory and protective legal and policy environments where human rights are respected. IHAA states it continues to work to ensure an enabling social and legal environment for HIV prevention, care and treatment. In sum, IHAA intended to attain below stipulated results – related indicator to measure progress over time are also accounted for the in the funding proposal submitted to Sida. 1. Healthy people: increase access to quality HIV/AIDS and health programs. 2. Stronger health and community systems: support CBOs to be connected and effective elements of health systems. 3. Inclusive and engaged societies: advocate for HIV/AIDS, health, gender and human rights. 4. Foundations for impact: build a stronger IHAA partnership that is evidence-based and accountable to communities.