UNAIDS Technical Support mechanisms (TSM)

Through the Technical Support Mechanism (TSM), a UNAIDS programme, we are delivering timely, high-quality, short-term technical assistance support to scale up national HIV and AIDS responses in over 80 countries across Africa, Asia and the Pacific. The programme focuses on reaching the most underserved populations and those at higher risk of HIV-infection, thus aiming to reduce inequities in access to healthcare, while also strengthening the sustainability of effective programmes.

Challenge

Though much has been achieved in the global HIV response over the last 30 years, important gaps and barriers remain which negatively impact on service uptake. We have identified the following priority areas:

• supporting countries to align their targets to the 2016 Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS in all strategic documents, plans, and policies
• ensuring an investment focus on location and populations most in need
• addressing barriers and constraints to securing effective and comprehensive priority prevention programmes
• supporting the sub-national level (cities, provinces, districts) to engage in the expanded response and to develop sub-national strategies, plans, and policies
• removing barriers to services through re-configured service delivery systems, including community service delivery; differentiated care models; addressing stigma and discrimination; and real-time strategic information including sub-national programme data
• supporting transition and sustainability planning;
• supporting cities/countries in implementing digital health programmes for fast-tracking the AIDS response

Our approach

We are helping to deliver technical support through the following approaches:

• Planning support: we assist in developing or refining the scope of assignments to ensure the provided technical support is strategic, efficient, and matches countries’ needs.
• Expert consultants: we engage experts from a wide network, prioritising national and regional specialists.
• Project implementation: we manage all assignments through the full project cycle, aiming to ensure that outcomes meet and exceed the requirements of each assignment. We are working with UNAIDS, country clients, and consultants to assure quality implementation of each assignment, including monitoring progress and resolving any potential issues, ensuring client feedback is incorporates into each assignment to inform quality improvement, and peer reviewing all deliverables.
• Strategic learning and communications: through strategic learning we are helping to ensure all gathered information and lessons learnt feed back into the projects to drive improvements and capacity building activities. Strategic learning also helps us navigate complex social and political environments, ensuring organisations trying to affect change have access to methods and information needed to do so.