Program
Health and HIV/AIDS
A Healthier Population in the East Africa Region achieved through African Leadership
Program Description
By working with African partners, USAID/East Africa is helping to alleviate some of these problems in the 16 countries under its umbrella. USAID East Africa’s Regional Health and HIV/AIDS programs complement bilateral programs through their focus on reaching vulnerable and underserved populations, particularly in fragile and conflict-prone regions, Limited Presence Countries, as well as populations at border sites and along the transport corridors where communicable diseases are easily spread. USAID/East Africa responds to requests for technical assistance and works with USAID Bilateral Missions and Ministries of Health to help set regional health priorities.
USAID/East Africa implements its activities in collaboration with two African-led regional institutions: the East, Central & Southern Africa Health Community (ECSA) in Arusha, Tanzania, and the Regional Centre for Quality of Health Care (RCQHC) at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda. Through USAID support, these institutions are building African technical capacity to improve service quality, providing training on key health issues, sharing best practices across borders, and improving the policy environment in four technical areas: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, maternal and child health and family planning/reproductive health.
USAID/East Africa is also working with partners to reduce taxes and tariffs on insecticide treated bed nets thus making malaria prevention more affordable. With USAID support, health care employees are being trained in National Health Accounting in order to get accurate data and projections for health sector investments. Combating gender based violence, improving access to reproductive health services, vaccinating children against potentially fatal communicable diseases and monitoring the spread of Avian flu are other areas in which USAID/East Africa provides assistance.
USAID/East Africa also supports Family Health International (FHI) in managing the regional SafeTStop program, which is designed to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS, improve care and reduce the impact of HIV and AIDS along major transport corridors in East Africa. This program reaches the most-at-risk: truckers and host communities in stopover towns and worksites.
Working in collaboration with bilateral and other partners, more than 5 million at risk and vulnerable people are receiving prevention, care, treatment and support services. USAID/East Africa continues to assist in developing concrete ways to reduce the burden of health care and to improve the health status of people in the region.