On World AIDS Day, celebrating five years of transformative change through ACHIEVE

As the world comes together to celebrate World AIDS Day, the USAID-funded Adolescents and Children HIV Incidence Reduction, Empowerment and Virus Elimination (ACHIEVE) project is committed to implementing innovative, community-based and systems solutions to identify and address gaps in HIV prevention and response among its target populations – pregnant and breastfeeding women, adolescents, infants and children. 

This year marks the fifth anniversary of our project. Led by Pact with consortium members Jhpiego, Palladium, No Means No Worldwide and WI-HER, ACHIEVE has reached over 1.1 million children and their families through our orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) programming, and 200,000 adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) through the DREAMS (Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-Free, Mentored and Safe) initiative across nine countries in Africa and Latin America. 

To achieve these results, we – alongside our local partners and host country governments – have designed and implemented holistic HIV prevention and response solutions in the areas of OVC, DREAMS, Systems Strengthening and Capacity Development to meet country-specific epidemic goals. 

OVC
Since 2019, ACHIEVE has served as USAID’s flagship initiative for the delivery of high-quality programs for OVC and their families, with a focus on the needs of children and adolescents affected by HIV and AIDS. Through targeted interventions that include comprehensive case management and prevention programming, we provide extensive support systems that enable children to thrive despite the challenges they face. By collaborating with and strengthening the capacity of local partners, we ensure that interventions are culturally sensitive, relevant and tailored to the specific needs of OVC.

Through our programming, we have ensured that over 99% of children and adolescents living with HIV (C/ALHIV) who are enrolled in the project have access to treatment. In 2024, among the nearly 29,000 C/ALHIV enrolled in the project, 92% were virally suppressed. 

DREAMS

Our DREAMS implementation has served as a cornerstone in reaching epidemic control among AGYW. Through DREAMS, we have worked to dismantle structural barriers such as gender inequality, inadequate education and economic disparities that increase AGYW’s vulnerability to HIV. Our approach involves the DREAMS core package of evidence-based interventions delivered by ACHIEVE and our local partners. This includes economic strengthening activities focused on building financial independence through business and vocational skills and employment support, as well as uptake of critical clinical services, including HIV testing, PrEP, sexual reproductive health, family planning and gender-based violence.

In 2024, we enrolled more than 100,000 AGYW into ACHIEVE’s DREAMS programs. This includes increasing access to HIV, GBV and FP/SRH clinical services for more than 3,000 AGYW and supporting around 65,000 AGYW with economic strengthening opportunities so that they can take control of their lives and make informed choices that reduce their risk of HIV infection.

SYSTEMS STRENGTHENING

To make HIV epidemic control a reality, we work across all levels of the social welfare ecosystem, including with host country government partners, local organizations, health care workers, community leaders and program recipients themselves. ACHIEVE has delivered systems strengthening interventions to the Governments of Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia in the key areas of policy development, social welfare workforce development, public sector planning and financing, management information systems (MIS) development and use and coordination and networking mechanisms.

Since 2019, we have strengthened government capacities to: budget, finance, plan for and maintain compliance of OVC programs; collect, analyze and use OVC data for decision-making; oversee and increase knowledge and skills among the social welfare workforce; coordinate among OVC actors and improve referral networks; and develop and roll out guidance to improve service delivery for the wellbeing of OVC and their families.

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT
Empowering communities to create sustainable impact is at the heart of our overarching approach. By collaborating with and strengthening the capacity of local partners, we ensure that interventions are culturally sensitive, relevant and tailored to the specific needs of our target populations. Core to our approach is customized technical and organizational support to address local partners’ priorities in advocating for and delivering quality services that are responsive to their communities’ needs. 

Over the course of the project, we have supported 28 partners – including 11 USAID local prime implementers in 2024 – to implement more than 1,200 capacity development activities aimed at strengthening organizational capacity to increase delivery of quality care services. In 2024, we supported 12 ITOCA reassessments to guide partners on their capacity development priorities across all technical and organizational areas for OVC and DREAMS implementation. 

A POSITIVE OUTLOOK

The past five years have been a remarkable learning and impactful experience for the ACHIEVE consortium and our program participants. We have made significant progress to address and prevent new HIV infections among OVC, AGYW and their caregivers. The localization of the HIV response serves as our guiding star. To ensure the sustainability of our efforts after the project closes, we remain steadfast in building the capacity of our local partners to prepare them to become USAID local prime implementers, and national governments to maintain epidemic control. 

Every day we remain dedicated to providing quality care, implementing evidence-based interventions and leveraging partnerships to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals and families we serve. We are immensely proud of the progress we have made that continues to push our work forward to achieving an AIDS-free generation. 

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