We have deep contextual and academic knowledge of the factors that lead individuals on chronic medication to drop out of care and to stop taking their medication. We have designed and run an innovative, scalable, retention in care programme focussed on ensuring that newly initiated ART patients are linked to support structures that provide tailored guidance, information and human level emotional support to HIV patients on ART.
The support programme has a discrete human interface, staffed by ART ambassadors that are themselves on chronic medication for HIV. The retention in care programme is focussed on newly initiated ART patients to ensure they are supported from the very beginning of their ART journey, when they are most at risk of dropping off treatment.