Guyana HIV AIDS Reduction and Prevention Campiagn

In 2003 the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP) Project, a four-year collaboration between the governments of Guyana and the United States, began. The campaign focused on improving health infrastructure and enhancing the skills of health workers. Key to the success of the project was collaboration with 25 Guyanese NGOs and faith-based organizations.

GHARP was a national leader in implementing voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), and worked with the MOH to integrate these services into the MOH system. To provide counseling and testing to people who lived in hard-to-reach areas, GHARP offered technical guidance and support in setting up and managing a mobile testing team, which was transitioned to a local NGO in 2006. More than 70,000 people in Guyana received HIV counseling and testing through GHARP. GHARP also worked with the Ministry of Health to develop the Guyana National Strategic Behavioral Communication (SBC) Strategy, which served as a framework for all local SBC initiatives.

GHARP’s work emphasized building the organizational capacity of local NGOs in technical and programmatic areas, and developing monitoring and evaluation plans. The project undertook significant work through partner Management Sciences for Health, and focused on three principal technical areas: NGO capacity building, mainstreaming HIV/AIDS activities into line ministries, and leadership development. GHARP helped local NGOs learn about proposal development, governance, project management, and USAID contractual regulations, and also provided ongoing mentorship. Community Support Development Services (CSDS), a local organization, is now the primary mechanism for NGO institutional capacity building, and GHARP’s focus has shifted from direct support to the NGOs to strengthening CSDS’s capacity to provide that support.

In 2003 the Guyana HIV/AIDS Reduction and Prevention (GHARP) Project, a four-year collaboration between the governments of Guyana and the United States, began. The campaign focused on improving health infrastructure and enhancing the skills of health workers. Key to the success of the project was collaboration with 25 Guyanese NGOs and faith-based organizations.

GHARP was a national leader in implementing voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), and worked with the MOH to integrate these services into the MOH system. To provide counseling and testing to people who lived in hard-to-reach areas, GHARP offered technical guidance and support in setting up and managing a mobile testing team, which was transitioned to a local NGO in 2006. More than 70,000 people in Guyana received HIV counseling and testing through GHARP. GHARP also worked with the Ministry of Health to develop the Guyana National Strategic Behavioral Communication (SBC) Strategy, which served as a framework for all local SBC initiatives.

GHARP’s work emphasized building the organizational capacity of local NGOs in technical and programmatic areas, and developing monitoring and evaluation plans. The project undertook significant work through partner Management Sciences for Health, and focused on three principal technical areas: NGO capacity building, mainstreaming HIV/AIDS activities into line ministries, and leadership development. GHARP helped local NGOs learn about proposal development, governance, project management, and USAID contractual regulations, and also provided ongoing mentorship. Community Support Development Services (CSDS), a local organization, is now the primary mechanism for NGO institutional capacity building, and GHARP’s focus has shifted from direct support to the NGOs to strengthening CSDS’s capacity to provide that support.

Source: Ministry of Health, Guyana

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019