AVAC’s take on milestone events and impact on VMMC numbers.
Annual Number of VMMCs, 2008-2017
Comparison of Traditional Socio-Behavioral Research and Human-Centered Design Approaches
The table below comes from an article by Betsy Tolley, which contrasts human-centered design (HCD) with “traditional socio-behavioral research” (SBR). It resists over-simplification like: “HCD looks for solutions, SBR looks for theories”, while also giving a sense of the differences between formal, protocol-driven SBR and a commerce– and private sector-derived methodology, now proving its worth in public health.
Global Number of New HIV Infections, 2000-2017 and 2020 Target
1.3 million person gap between the current rate and the 2020 target.
Human-Centered Design: How it adds up
Human-centered programming is increasingly offered as a solution to public health challenges, but what does it really mean? This simple graphic shows some of the core elements in the equation.
Using HCD to Solve a Problem
This graphic describes, in three parts, how to use human-centered design could be used to help with the low uptake of VMMC.
Kenya’s HIV Prevention Revolution Roadmap
From the Kenyan Ministry of Health, here’s Kenya’s HIV prevention roadmap — counting down to 2030.
Peers are Primary: Towards a systematic approach to lay cadres
Across Treatment U=U and prevention programs, peer navigators, mentor mothers and lay counselors are recognized as essential to good services. Yet many countries don’t have clear schemas for quantifying the number of individuals needed, budgeting for their remuneration and defining the roles and responsibilities that lead to impact. Activists are working to ensure clarity by demanding from governments, funders and implementers.
Towards a Demand Creation Cascade
Many countries report low initiation and continuation of PrEP. This doesn’t mean people don’t want the product. They might not want the program that’s offering it; or they might not be being reached. A “demand-creation cascade” such as the one proposed here for PrEP is one way to evaluate the program and the product. It would measure how many people received the full suite of demand-side activities the program hopes to deliver at a given stage. The precise set of steps would depend on the service-delivery design and strategy in question.
Phases of Informed-Choice PrEP Counseling
This flow chart emerged from socio-behavioral research, including surveys and in-depth interviews with Kenyan and South African women. The research team set out with the goal of adapting the informed-choice approach used in family planning programs for use in PrEP, a prime example of fields learning from each other. The result is very clinic-centered; AVAC has added the column at the far right to reflect additional elements. However, it is a step towards much-needed exploration of how to make informed choice a reality in HIV prevention today.
Public Health is Personal
What gets measured gets funded, the adage goes. What would happen if communities demanded measurements of individual and collective health and well-being that have nothing to do with a retrovirus or a specific sex act, and everything to do with human dignity, comfort and safety in one’s own skin—a comfort that’s hard-fought in racist, sexist, homo– and trans-phobic nations? Imagine a world in which this cascade counted as much as 90-90-90. Let’s work to make it a reality.