Baltimore, MD—Building on four years of success in improving health services in eastern Kenya, Jhpiego, an international health nonprofit and affiliate of The Johns Hopkins University, has been asked to continue its work there and lead a $100 million U.S.-funded effort to bring quality health care to impoverished, underserved communities in the central and eastern provinces.
Chosen for the highly competitive award, Jhpiego will lead the “APHIAplus Health Service Delivery” project over the next five years and work with a consortium of Kenyan partners to integrate a range of health services, products and information at all levels of health facility, from community clinics to local hospitals. Integration of services helps ensure that patients can more easily access care and that all of their health needs are met.
Funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will enable Jhpiego to increase availability of an integrated package of high-quality, high-impact interventions, including HIV and family planning services, at the community and facility levels; improve the health status of communities, focusing on the marginalized, poor and underserved populations; and strengthen health service delivery through a variety of innovative approaches.
“Jhpiego is thrilled to be chosen for this project and join our Kenyan partners in providing innovative health strategies to improve health care services for those most in need and support Kenyans in carrying out this most important, life-changing work,” said Jhpiego President and CEO Leslie Mancuso.
In its work on APHIAplus Zone 4, Jhpiego will be joined by the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), Liverpool VCT, Care and Treatment (LVCT), Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) and the National Organization of Peer Educators (NOPE). The consortium is supported by the International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programs (ICAP), PATH and Land O’Lakes, Inc.
For the past four years, Jhpiego has led the $33.9 million, USAID-funded AIDS, Population and Health Integrated Assistance (APHIA II) project in Eastern Kenya, a landmark project for Kenya and Jhpiego. APHIA II Eastern, which ended last month, focused on improving the quality of health services, with an emphasis on integrated care and building the capacity of local nongovernmental organizations to provide palliative care and support to people living with HIV.
Jhpiego’s leadership, coordination with other international partners and successful use of innovative strategies in the APHIA II Eastern project have resulted in impressive health gains. Since 2006, APHIA II Eastern has counseled and tested over 1.1 million Kenyans. In the past two years alone, more than 8,000 of those who tested positive have begun lifesaving antiretroviral treatment.
