Name of the project: Improved Quality and Sustainability of Medication Assisted Treatment in Ukraine
Period of the project: 01 February 2016 – 31 January 2021
Total Project Cost: 2 500 000 USD
Number of grant agreement identification (FAIN): U2GGH001338
Legal background: The Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Ukraine on Technical Cooperation and Assistance of May 7, 1992.
Donor: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
The purpose of this Project is to provide targeted technical assistance to medication assisted therapy programs (MAT) in Ukraine and stimulate its development in order to improve sustainability and quality of programs and long-term health and social outcomes of MAT clients.
The purpose will be achieved by meeting key objectives:
1. Development, testing, piloting and evaluation of financially sustainable MAT models in selected regions with the aim to replicate nationally,
2. Improvement of quality of care and increase MAT effectiveness by training program personnel on up-to-date guidelines and approaches and facilitation of the cascade trainings to the regions,
3. Implementation of Integrated Care Models of services to increase TB, ART and MAT provision to patients to improve health outcomes and quality of life,
4. Development and implementation of post-MAT service models to decrease the relapse rate among clients who discharge from MAT program.
The Project implementation strategy is based on the extensive and effective cooperation with State Institution “Ukrainian Center for Socially Dangerous Disease Control of the Ministry of Health” (UCDC) and Ukrainian Institute for Public Health Policy (UIPHP) therefore the project will benefit from synergy of input from key partners.
Alliance core efforts will be targeted at the general project implementation and coordination including selection of regions, development and implementation of MAT models, organization of integrated care, implementation of MAT completion/discontinuation model, advocacy of effective MAT models at the national and regional level.
UCDC involvement will be especially beneficial in organizational and methodological support, facilitate institutionalization of MAT models, policy changes.
UIPHP will assist in assessment, protocol development and implementation, clinical guidelines update and trainings conduction.
To ensure sustainability of the project activities and expanding of MAT Alliance will procure MAT drugs, supported by UCDC in the form of MoH Orders issuance. Strategy for project implementation will be in line with Healthy People 2020, PEPFAR priorities and strategies for Ukraine, SUNRISE and METIDA projects’ achievements.
Outcomes for development of new financial viability MAT models will include:
1. Gaining and dissemination of knowledge on at least three new and effective models with sustainable MAT financing, piloting and evaluation of those models and using data to scale-up effective models at national level for at least 1 000 patients.
2. Improving quality of care in existing MAT programs will result in training of at least 90 healthcare professionals, increased capacity and skills among them to provide MAT according to the updated guidelines, development and implementation of the quality monitoring and improvement systems in MAT programs.
3. Integrated treatment approaches will be enhanced by training of at least 50 health administrators on organizational aspects, as well as training of at least 60 health care professionals on knowledge and skills in providing integrated care, this will result that at least 25 MAT sites will provide key services (ART, TB) at the same location as well as increase in integrated services coverage in other MAT sites.
4. The outcomes of service delivery models after post-discharge treatment will be improved through refining knowledge and skills among program medical staff on current guidance on dose tapering and indications for MAT treatment completion and through increasing capacity of health care professionals to prepare patients for discharge and link them to rehabilitation programs will be implemented nationally.
Contact persons:
Filippovych Sergii, Director: Treatment, Procurement & Supply management, filippovych@aph.org.ua
Kolomiets Victor, Project Coordinator, kolomiets@aph.org.ua