A new protocol for the HIV testing algorithm has been developed in Georgia, which will soon be submitted to the Georgian Ministry of Health for approval, the Institute for Analytics and Advocacy reports.
The new protocol is based on improving the testing algorithm itself (based on WHO recommendations) and introducing a decentralized confirmation testing system. According to preliminary estimates, the introduction of new testing algorithms could result in savings of $ 43,000 to $ 70,000. These funds are planned to be used for reallocation to HIV services for key populations in order to increase the share of funds allocated from the budget as part of the transition from donor to public funding.
“It is a great achievement for us that we have developed an algorithm that will give us savings. We already have preliminary agreements with the MoH and the National Center for Disease Control and Public Health (NCDC) that they will simplify confirmatory testing algorithms. And at the moment we are faced with the task to decide together where to redirect the saved resources. We suggest redirecting them to provide HIV services for key populations, but there are risks and the possibility that the amount will be retained in treatment and care programs. And now we are working to come to the most optimal solution, ” Giorgi Soselia says, #SoS_project expert on the implementation of activities in Georgia.
New testing algorithms were developed by the Georgian association of PLHIV “Life 2.0.”, “Doctors of the World”, “Open society Georgia foundation” with the technical support of experts from the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy within the framework of the #SoS_project implementation.
The new protocol was developed on the basis of the Analytical Report on Decentralization and Optimization of Costs for HIV Testing and recommendations for it, which were also prepared with the technical support of experts from the Institute of Analytics and Advocacy. At the moment, the testing algorithm in Georgia is already changing in order to optimize costs, and in the nearest future, it is planned to make changes taking into account the new protocol. However, there is no guarantee so far that the savings can be used to finance HIV services for key populations. Therefore, work in this direction in Georgia goes on, including searching for other optimization methods.