As the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) celebrated their 70th anniversary in 2016, we take a look back at our long-standing partnership with the CDC, beginning with the initiation of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) in 2003. To date, our collaborative projects have reached over 655,000 people, with additional projects planned supporting the international community’s strategy to eradicate HIV/AIDS by 2030.
The CDC supported an AIDSRelief consortium led by Catholic Relief Services in over 10 countries from 2004-2013, in which CMMB implemented programming in Haiti, Kenya, and South Africa, and worked closely with leading public health organizations to ensure high quality standards of care, contributing knowledge that would drive international standards for HIV/AIDS service delivery.
Building on our success and recognition in Zambia, CDC supported the CMMB-designed “Men Taking Action” (MTA™) program in South Africa, beginning in 2008. This innovative, male-focused counseling and testing program used home-based care and church networks to identify households and mobilize villages to increase uptake of HIV/AIDS services. CMMB has also worked with the CDC to provide voluntary male circumcision in South Africa and Kenya, a proven method of HIV/AIDS prevention.
CDC has supported CMMB-led HIV/AIDS-related work in other countries as well:
- In 2009, CMMB began implementing a program called ANISA (meaning “together” in the local Zande language) in South Sudan’s Western Equatoria region. ANISA reduced new HIV infections and improved care and support to people living with HIV, with an emphasis on strengthening health systems. In 2015, CDC awarded CMMB a five-year follow-on award, ANISA2, to continue work in the region.
- In Haiti, CMMB has led the continuation of the CDC-funded AIDSRelief consortium work through a program called SIDALE (meaning “AIDS Go Away” in Haitian Creole) since 2011, and then with a five-year continuation called ALESIDA. Through this program, CMMB supports health centers in clinical service provision, increased financial accountability, business development for sustainability, and overall leadership and governance, all designed to strengthen HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment capacity.
- CMMB implemented a CDC-supported program called COMPACTS in the Western Province of Zambia, which offered communities public health incentives like hospital beds or boreholes for reaching agreed-upon HIV testing benchmarks. This program trained traditional leaders to give social and behavior change messaging to prevent the transmission of HIV.