Care and Support

Key Priorities  |   USAID Issue Briefs  |  Additional Technical Resources

	The USAID-supported Soweto Hospice, in the background, provides HIV/AIDS services to one of South Africa’s most vulnerable communities. Source: Reverie Zurba, USAID/South Africa

As the pendulum on HIV/AIDS interventions swings between prevention and treatment, it is often care that is lost. Yet care is a critical element of a truly comprehensive approach to fighting AIDS. The term “care and support” refers to the wide range of services other than antiretroviral therapy offered to people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and other affected persons, such as family members. Care and support comprises five categories of services: clinical (including prevention and treatment of opportunistic infections and AIDS-related malignancies), pain and symptom management, psychological, social, and spiritual and prevention services. These services may be provided in facility-, community-, or home-based settings. Care and support is vitally important throughout the lifespan of individuals infected with HIV, starting at the time of diagnosis.

Providing care and support for people living with and affected by HIV/AIDS, including orphans and vulnerable children, is a high priority for USAID. Interventions on behalf of orphans and vulnerable children seek to strengthen the capacity of families, communities, and affected children to respond to the AIDS crises. USAID-sponsored interventions are helping communities provide care, counseling, psychological support, and economic-strengthening activities, as well as material assistance, such as food, school fees, shelter, and clothing.

Key Priorities

Providing Care and Support for Orphans and Vulnerable Children
Children, by far, bear the greatest burden of those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS. In partnership with the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, USAID is advancing key practices that support the special needs of AIDS-affected children.

Care and Support Spotlight
Find out how USAID works on the ground. View a selection of our care and support success stories.

Strengthening Community- and Home-Based Care Networks
As a premiere development agency, USAID understands that the people around you – those in your community and in your home – can help marshal some of the best resources for PLWHA. That is why USAID programs place an important emphasis on local networks of care.

Clinical Care and Treatment of Opportunistic Infections, Such as Tuberculosis
People who are HIV- or AIDS-affected need to receive quality clinical care and decision-making. HIV/AIDS weakens the immune system, and many AIDS patients also suffer from tuberculosis. When other opportunistic infections set in, a more complex regimen of care is needed. USAID addresses this need through its state-of-the art programs.

Addressing the Special Nutritional Needs of HIV/AIDS-affected Persons
Those who suffer from HIV/AIDS have nutritional requirements that are different from non-infected individuals. Nutritional status can also impact how well one adheres to antiretroviral medications. For a decade, USAID has pioneered the integration of nutritional interventions into HIV/AIDS programs, to much success.

Involving People Living with HIV/AIDS
People living with HIV/AIDS are a strong and vital voice in the global community. They also influence programs and policies in their local communities, and can lead the way to positive change and innovation for the HIV/AIDS community, and society at large. USAID programs have long enlisted the support of PLWHA networks, a heralded strategy among many.

USAID Issue Briefs

2009 Palliative Care: A Continuum of Patient-Centered Care Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS Nutrition and HIV/AIDS Highly Vulnerable Children HIV/TB Co-Infection

Additional Technical Resources

2009 Investing in People Living with HIV [PDF, 1.1MB] Quality Improvement for OVC Series: Changing Youth Participation from a “Token Voice” to a Key Actor [PDF, 864KB] People Living with HIV/AIDS [PDF, 128KB] Nutrition Care and Support of People Living with HIV in Countries in Francophone Africa: Progress, Experience, and Lessons Learned [PDF, 203KB] 2008 Quality Programs for Orphans and Vulnerable Children: A Facilitator’s Guide to Establishing Service Standards [PDF, 2.8MB] A Guide to Monitoring and Evaluation of Nutrition Assessment, Education and Counseling of People Living with HIV [PDF, 503KB] Evidence-Based Programming for Children Affected by HIV/AIDS in Low Prevalence and Concentrated Epidemic Countries [PDF, 3.5MB] Highly Vulnerable Children, Second Annual Report to Congress [PDF, 2.3MB] 2007 Highly Vulnerable Children, First Annual Report to Congress - 2007 [PDF, 2.2MB] 2004 Directory of Associations of People Living with AIDS [PDF, 2.8MB] Children on the Brink [PDF, 4.9MB]