APC Dominican Republic Hands Over RIE strategy to the Health Region V Office

August 19, 2016

On August 9th, 2016 the PEPFAR/USAID funded Advancing Partners & Communities (APC) project held an event in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic to celebrate the handover of the Respuesta Integral Expandida (RIE) strategy to the Health Region V Office. 

The strategy was a two year, multi-sectoral collaboration between the government´s Health Region V Office and local NGOs, community based organizations (CBOs) and civil society organizations in the Eastern region of the country. The successful pilot of the RIE strategy was based on a public-private sector programming framework and a process for achieving short-term results by pooling resources to meet high-priority gaps in HIV services.

Regional health authorities, medical staff from public sector HIV centers and NGO and CBO clinics, regional and provincial hospital administrative staff, and representatives of key populations worked together to identify and propose solutions to accessing quality HIV services, monitoring and evaluating clinical performance, referral and counter referral systems, and stigma and discrimination.

Key achievements and features of the RIE pilot include:

  • participation of more than 60 health officials, NGOs, CBOs, and representatives of key populations in four regional technical working groups
  • training's for health care providers on how to monitor and measure adherence to treatment
  • establishment of a multi-sectoral provincial network for referrals and counter-referrals
  • implementation of a HIV quality management system at a public sector hospital
  • implementation of policies and procedures for identifying and managing cases of stigma and discrimination in hospitals throughout the region.

The APC project is using the experience and lessons learned from the RIE pilot in Health Region V for implementation in other health regions.