Community-Based Model for Delivery of Antiretroviral Therapy in Cambodia

The community-based ART delivery (CAD) model will build on the existing framework to engage community action, operationalized in the current Global Fund-supported project. Community Action Workers (CAW), who are assigned to ART centers and conduct outreach work, are well-suited to administer CAD scheme. KHANA and the project partners all have implementation roles in the Global Fund-supported project and established working channels with the CAW. While the previous experiences suggest the CAD model's effectiveness, implementing it in Cambodia requires adaptation to its specific local context. The proposed project will be implemented as an implementation study in nine ART sites and supported by a concrete evaluation plan. KHANA Center for Population Health Research will lead the research component. The project has three strategic areas and corresponding deliverables as follows: A. The development of a locally-fitted model: bringing ART closer to the people living with HIV B. The research: formulation, evaluation, documentation, and dissemination of the evidence, knowledge, and lessons learned C. The scale-up: advocacy for the SOP development to replicate/scale-up the CAD model The project will benefit a wide range of stakeholders. The approximately 2,000 ART clients enrolled in the nine selected clinics will face less cost, time, and discrimination, which will also benefit their families. The clinics will have a reduced workload on site, and they would be able to improve the quality of care for the visiting clients. The Cambodian health system will obtain a CAD model tailored to the country's local context and develop Standard Operating Procedures for the scheme with readily involved stakeholders. The scale-up of the model will benefit all other ART clinics and clients in the country. The 36-months project starting from June 1, 2019, will include six months of start-up and baseline assessments, 24-month intervention, and six-month evaluation.