Mobile clinics at the forefront of the pandemic

The main task that we faced during quarantine period was to do the best to provide our help to people who neededit. We fully adapted the goals of the project and restructured the work so that clients of both our project and partner organizations did not interrupt treatment and remain safe.
Dina Bodenchuk Project Manager, Alliance for Public Health

Task

Due to the newly imposed restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a risk of interruption of ART for HIV-positive people who are unable to get to health facilities to receive medication. This problem arose not only among clients of the KPIF project, but also among other patients living in remote areas of the regions of Ukraine who work as part of projects financed by PEPFAR funds. Patients on ART often do not own car, the means to organize their travel in accordance with existing restrictions and new rules, or they are not able to get to the AIDS center due to their health conditions.

Solution

The main advantage and tool for solving this problem for the KPIF project team was the principle of the project itself – the use of mobile clinics that work in certain locations of a particular region.

Based on the problem, the following decisions were made:

1) To arrange delivery of antiretroviral therapy medication for clients residing on routes approved by the project. The regional teams of the KPIF project were able to provide assistance in the delivery of medication not only for the clients of their project, but also for all clients who need therapy.
2) To provide assistance to medical workers in dispatching medication for project clients through the Nova Pochta postal service: box packaging, registering, delivery and shipping.
3) Ensure targeted delivery of medication to patients’ homes.
4) To deliver medication to certain trust offices which are located in the area.

Result

Thanks to the modification of services under this project, 439 people living with HIV were able to receive antiretroviral therapy during quarantine in 4 regions of Ukraine – Kherson, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions.

Project: ‘Improving HIV case detection and treatment access for people who inject drugs in Ukraine’ at the initiative of the Key Population Investment Fund (KPIF), which is being implemented with financial support from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)