Integrating gender to improve HIV services in Uganda

Abstract

The Partnership for HIV-Free Survival (PHFS) was a regional initiative supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) that applied a quality improvement (QI) approach in a select number of demonstration sites in six countries to improve the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and increase HIV-free survival of exposed infants. The Ivukula Health Center was one of the chosen demonstration sites in Uganda, one of the six PHFS focus countries. This case study describes how the Ivukula Health Center QI team improved the quality of HIV services and applied the same QI methods to integrate gender considerations into the process improvements they tested. The case illustrates how engaging male partners and community members in improving care can play a critical role in improving health outcomes and discusses a generic approach to integrating gender considerations into any development activity.