Costing of Cryptococcal Screening and Treatment for National Implementation

Overview

The project’s goal is to provide technical assistance to the Eswatini National AIDS Programme (ENAP) to support the initial roll-out and implementation of Cryptococcal Antigen (CrAg) screening and TB LAM testing as part of a package of care for People Living with HIV (PLHIV) presenting to care with advanced HIV disease.

The Challenge

The 2017 WHO Guidelines for managing advanced HIV disease and rapid initiation of antiretroviral therapy and the 2018 Eswatini Integrated HIV management guidelines recommend CrAg screening and TB LAM testing as part of a package of care for people living with HIV (PLHIV) presenting to care with advanced HIV disease. For the roll-out of these services at select hospitals, the CDC Foundation is supporting the Kingdom of Eswatini in the procurement of generic fluconazole for the first year of implementation. URC will oversee procurement funding allocation and provide technical assistance through the rollout to ensure a strong foundation is laid for national provision of these services.

Objectives

URC is working closely with the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders to build ENAP capacity, facilitate training of health providers at chosen health facilities for initial provision of CrAG screening and TB LAM testing, and implement enhanced monitoring and evaluation of the impact of the interventions at the 16 priority sites. Project objectives include:

• To provide technical support to ENAP in the scale-up of advanced HIV disease management in 16 selected facilities of the Kingdom of Eswatini
• To scale up CrAg screening and treatment in 16 selected facilities
• To scale up TB LAM screening and treatment in 16 selected facilities
• To conduct an implementation study on the impact of CrAg and TB LAM screening and treatment in Advanced HIV Disease