ACCELERATE
Under the directives of PEPFAR, with support from USAID, and in collaboration with NACO, the ACCELERATE program provides HIV/AIDS services for high-risk populations including key populations affected by HIV throughout India and technical assistance (TA) to the national, state, and district HIV/AIDS programs in India. ACCELERATE supports the national program to address gaps in current programming.
The program serves vulnerable populations (and their partners/spouses/networks) who are disproportionately affected by HIV and traditionally underserved, including female sex workers (FSW), men who have sex with men (MSM), transgender persons (TG), and people who inject drugs (PWID). ACCELERATE provides TA at the national, state, and district levels. The program focuses on the entire HIV cascade in high-burden PEPFAR cluster districts.
Project ACCELERATE operates in the following locations:
- East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasam, Sri Potti Sri Ramulu Nellore, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, Kurnool, Chittoor, YSR Kadapa and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh
- Pune, Thane, Mumbai in Maharashtra
- Imphal East, Imphal West, Churachandpur and Chandel in Manipur
- Aizawl, Champhai, Lunglei, Mamit, Kolasib in Mizoram
- Dimapur, Tuensang (including Noklak) and Mokokchung in Nagaland
- Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar, and Nalgonda in Telangana
- Online presence: Safe Zindagi and Accelerate Linktree
**The Orphans and Vulnerable Children's program runs in all the 33 PEPFAR districts including AP and NE. Other site-level activities are restricted to Telangana (Hyderabad, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda) and Maharashtra (Pune & Thane).
Project Goals
To implement, evaluate and transition promising, sustainable, and novel models of HIV prevention, testing, treatment, and care guided by evidence-based practices that are aimed at improving the HIV cascade
Objectives
- To increase access and availability of KP-friendly prevention services
- To improve access and uptake of HIV testing services among vulnerable Indian populations
- To facilitate increased access, adherence, and retention to antiretroviral therapy and improve survival among PLHIV
- To improve the well-being of orphans and vulnerable children, mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS
Services:
ACCELERATE brings the latest global innovations in HIV prevention and treatment to India. Novel approaches include:
Prevention:
- Roll out new HIV prevention strategies in India (e.g., PrEP)
- Differentiated Prevention Model for NACO TI Programs
- Support to roll out revamped TI strategy (First transgender comprehensive clinic, Mitr clinic, established in Hyderabad, Thane and Pune)
Testing:
- Identify strategies to improve efficiency of HIV testing
- Implement new HIV testing strategies (e.g., HIV self-testing)
Linkage to ART:
- Peer navigation to link PLHIV with ART
- Rapid/same day initiation of ART
Quality of Care Improvements:
- Integrated models of Care (NCD/Ageing)
- Decentralized ART Model
- PLHIV Death Autopsy
- Advanced Disease Management Package
Patient Retention & Viral Suppression:
- Virtual Adherence monitoring (SVA/ 99DOTS)
- Improve access to viral load testing
OVC & Adolescent Program:
- Package of services for at risk adolescents
- Integrated adolescent model with HWC for HIV services
- Linkage to social protection & other schemes for OVC & families
- Adolescent Friendly Health Centers established in Imphal, Guntur, Hyderabad and Pune
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