The APACE (Accelerating Programme Achievements to Control the Epidemic) Programme
In 2018, Right to Care was awarded a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant for Accelerating Program Achievements to Control the Epidemic (APACE) in South Africa. The programme supports South Africa’s National Strategic Plan on HIV, TB and STIs and UNAIDS 95-95-95 targets.
Our APACE programme is running in:
- the Ehlanzeni district in the Mpumalanga province, which supports 138 healthcare facilities, and
- the Thabo Mofutsanyana district in the Free State province, which supports 84 healthcare facilities.
This programme focuses on the HIV and TB continuum of care and aims to:
- prevent new HIV infections,
- reduce HIV morbidity and mortality,
- strengthen district and provincial health systems and
- strengthen the national health system.
Excellent results
Our APACE programme has shown excellent results with regards to testing people, putting them onto life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART) and retaining them in care.
Results in our first year include:
- 51,480 – the number of newly diagnosed HIV positive patients
- 51,272 – the number of patients initiated onto ART
- 333,027 – the number of patients retained in care
- across both districts we achieved:
- 87% viral load completion and
- 92% viral suppression
In delivering this programme, Right to Care focuses on:
- innovation,
- cost-effectiveness,
- efficiency,
- the use of data to drive impact and address gaps and
- ensuring effective implementation.
The best Siyenza district – ‘We are doing it’
Our Ehlanzeni district in Mpumalanga was recently selected as the best Siyenza district in South Africa. Siyenza is an isiZulu term meaning ‘we are doing it’. This was the name given to a PEPFAR-CDC initiative launched in early 2019 to:
Successes across the HIV and TB continuum of care
Right to Care implemented TB prevention services for both drug-sensitive and drug-resistant TB in both districts.
We performed exceptionally well in helping to prevent mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT).
Several interventions have helped us to keep patients on their treatment. These include:
- a call-centre,
- SMS appointment reminders,
- tracing patients who miss appointments,
- extending clinic opening hours at selected facilities,
- multi-month dispensing and
- decanting strategies to avoid long queues in facilities.
In our first year, we exceeded UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets for the first, second and third 90. This was achieved by exceeding testing targets and attaining 100% linkage of patients to treatment.
This programme has also created around 300 jobs.
Supporting government to improve healthcare delivery
Right to Care is providing technical assistance for the:
- implementation of the South African Antimicrobial Resistance National Strategy Framework,
- development and review of multiple national guidelines,
- national National Department of Health (NDOH(Department of Health)) Committees and Technical Working Groups,
- review of anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment regimens on TIER.net, which is the NDoH’s health information system for HIV and TB,
- training on the new ARV and prevention of mother to child transmission guidelines and
- training of the Provincial Programme Managers, CEOs and Medical Managers in the Free State.
Community engagement
World Vision and Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa (HPCA) are supporting Right to Care’s community-outreach efforts. They:
- conduct door-to-door visits,
- set up gazebos in populated areas,
- visit workplaces, taverns and universities,
- set up activations in malls and stadiums and
- create safe spaces where people can test for HIV.
