Doan Thanh Tung, Director at Lighthouse Social Enterprise
What improvements to HIV testing services would you like to see?
Firstly, I want to see improvements in the quality of testing services; to increase demand, it should be based on the right to access services, and should be friendly and sensitive to key populations. Secondly, there is a need for more comprehensive services not only for HIV, but also for sexually transmitted infections, and counselling in testing should also be based on an understanding of specific populations and offer friendly support. Finally, services need to be more diversified to reach more key populations going beyond just fixed-site testing to include mobile testing and self-testing through a variety of social networks, apps, entertainment spots, community events and peer educators. In addition, it is important to develop an empowered community network that provides extensive testing services to more vulnerable people.
What innovations around HIV testing have made a difference, particularly for key populations?
We believe that friendly services are very important to key populations in accessing HIV testing services, including sensitized healthcare providers with a positive attitude who understand challenges faced by key populations, each sub-group, sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as community language. Lighthouse has been implementing several types of sensitization trainings to more than 200 healthcare providers in Viet Nam, which needs to be expanded across Viet Nam and the region.
In addition to comprehensive and/or integration of services, it is also important that this is paired with friendliness. HIV and STI services with condoms, lubricant, PrEP and PEP, and treatment available in one place is ideal. In Viet Nam, we work as an HIV services eco-system between community organizations, HIV services, STI services, and PrEP and PEP services – this alliance is friendly, quality and right-based when we provide the services to the community.
Lastly, optimizing social media to generate demand for HIV testing services and other services is critical. Social media and smartphone applications are popular among communities, including men who have sex with men, and there is great potential to share information widely to introduce and connect communities to services. Lighthouse has created the community space, fanpage Gtown and website Gtown.vn, which combines many other community pages, groups and websites. As a next step, we are planning to build a health-life application which will empower communities to manage their health.
How important are peers in differentiated HIV testing approaches for key populations?
Peers are powerful in differentiated HIV testing as they have a deep understanding of community needs and approaches, empathy and can be a friend. They are also the ‘glue’ of community testing and treatment services. Today, peers are not only doing outreach and referrals but also providing services directly, supporting clinical research and implementing innovations.
Can you tell us about a successful differentiated HIV testing model or what you think the key components of successful testing programmes for key populations are?
We found that a successful programme needs meaningful participation from the community where the community plays an important role in designing and developing the programme based on their experience and understanding. Communities must be also be involved in implementation and measuring outcomes based on information collected from the community so the programme can achieve its best impact and be responsive.
A successful differentiated HIV testing model that I would like to share is HIV testing in the community combined with treatment at the health facility. By 2016, community organizations in Viet Nam were directly involved in the provision of HIV testing. Lighthouse was one of the first organizations to carry out this test with support from the Healthy Market project- USAID- PATH. Before launching the programme to the community, we held community meetings to discuss the upcoming programme and gather opinions on the needs, preferences, expectations and outcomes. From that, we built community-based testing programmes, including community decorations, friendly service delivery criteria, communication materials, condoms, lubrication, appropriate opening times, community connection methods and tools for booking appointments, and feedback mechanisms for service quality and satisfaction.
We also held meetings with partners who provide various services such as confirmation testing, HIV and STI treatment, and PEP and PrEP to ensure full service delivery to clients. This was to make sure that when clients came to us, we could provide all necessary information and services for more than just HIV counselling and testing.
In addition, we also did mapping of community channels, connected to community fanpages, websites, groups, dating apps and community entertainment facilities owners to share information about the testing programme and to build a network to provide information and services through.
Finally, empowered community members are trained by us in communication, advocacy and direct service delivery, such as testing at the office, testing at home, testing at community events, providing and making appointments via social networking, hotlines and building community conversation topics to have the knowledge and skills to implement initiatives.
Can you tell us about how organizations, such as Lighthouse Social Enterprise, can help advocate for differentiated HIV testing services?
As a community-led organization, we work directly with the community as well as with stakeholders; we are advocating for policies and laws that allow community organizations to provide services not only for HIV counselling and testing services but also treatment, care and STI services. We collect community ideas about services and needs as well as initiatives to mobilize agencies, donors and organizations working with the community to strengthen existing and on-going programmes.
Lighthouse is also focusing efforts on building friendly health facilities for the community through sensitization trainings for health providers, including technical assistance to health facilities and toolkits and guidance needed to communicate effectively with the community. We support the decorating of some facilities, providing documents and books related to the community and guidance on how to share widely about community-friendly services. The changes are also measured through prior evaluation and after the intervention with feedback on community satisfaction.
We also implement research to collect information about needs, barriers that inhibit access to services and ideas from the community to share with existing projects, governments and stakeholders to inform advocacy efforts around building a favorable environment, providing comprehensive services and implementing differentiated services to men who have sex with men.
What do you want people to know about differentiated HIV testing approaches in your region?
We want to let everyone know that, in Viet Nam and our region, even though the community has just started to participate in providing services we still do a very good job, making meaningful contributions to HIV prevention in the country and regional programmes. We need to be trusted and empowered as well as build capacity to continue to maintain, expand and advocate for differentiated services. We will only stop HIV/AIDS together.
What improvements to HIV testing services would you like to see?
Firstly, I want to see improvements in the quality of testing services; to increase demand, it should be based on the right to access services, and should be friendly and sensitive to key populations. Secondly, there is a need for more comprehensive services not only for HIV, but also for sexually transmitted infections, and counselling in testing should also be based on an understanding of specific populations and offer friendly support. Finally, services need to be more diversified to reach more key populations going beyond just fixed-site testing to include mobile testing and self-testing through a variety of social networks, apps, entertainment spots, community events and peer educators. In addition, it is important to develop an empowered community network that provides extensive testing services to more vulnerable people.
What innovations around HIV testing have made a difference, particularly for key populations?
We believe that friendly services are very important to key populations in accessing HIV testing services, including sensitized healthcare providers with a positive attitude who understand challenges faced by key populations, each sub-group, sexual orientation and gender identity, as well as community language. Lighthouse has been implementing several types of sensitization trainings to more than 200 healthcare providers in Viet Nam, which needs to be expanded across Viet Nam and the region.
In addition to comprehensive and/or integration of services, it is also important that this is paired with friendliness. HIV and STI services with condoms, lubricant, PrEP and PEP, and treatment available in one place is ideal. In Viet Nam, we work as an HIV services eco-system between community organizations, HIV services, STI services, and PrEP and PEP services – this alliance is friendly, quality and right-based when we provide the services to the community.
Lastly, optimizing social media to generate demand for HIV testing services and other services is critical. Social media and smartphone applications are popular among communities, including men who have sex with men, and there is great potential to share information widely to introduce and connect communities to services. Lighthouse has created the community space, fanpage Gtown and website Gtown.vn, which combines many other community pages, groups and websites. As a next step, we are planning to build a health-life application which will empower communities to manage their health.
How important are peers in differentiated HIV testing approaches for key populations?
Peers are powerful in differentiated HIV testing as they have a deep understanding of community needs and approaches, empathy and can be a friend. They are also the ‘glue’ of community testing and treatment services. Today, peers are not only doing outreach and referrals but also providing services directly, supporting clinical research and implementing innovations.
Can you tell us about a successful differentiated HIV testing model or what you think the key components of successful testing programmes for key populations are?
We found that a successful programme needs meaningful participation from the community where the community plays an important role in designing and developing the programme based on their experience and understanding. Communities must be also be involved in implementation and measuring outcomes based on information collected from the community so the programme can achieve its best impact and be responsive.
A successful differentiated HIV testing model that I would like to share is HIV testing in the community combined with treatment at the health facility. By 2016, community organizations in Viet Nam were directly involved in the provision of HIV testing. Lighthouse was one of the first organizations to carry out this test with support from the Healthy Market project- USAID- PATH. Before launching the programme to the community, we held community meetings to discuss the upcoming programme and gather opinions on the needs, preferences, expectations and outcomes. From that, we built community-based testing programmes, including community decorations, friendly service delivery criteria, communication materials, condoms, lubrication, appropriate opening times, community connection methods and tools for booking appointments, and feedback mechanisms for service quality and satisfaction.
We also held meetings with partners who provide various services such as confirmation testing, HIV and STI treatment, and PEP and PrEP to ensure full service delivery to clients. This was to make sure that when clients came to us, we could provide all necessary information and services for more than just HIV counselling and testing.
In addition, we also did mapping of community channels, connected to community fanpages, websites, groups, dating apps and community entertainment facilities owners to share information about the testing programme and to build a network to provide information and services through.
Finally, empowered community members are trained by us in communication, advocacy and direct service delivery, such as testing at the office, testing at home, testing at community events, providing and making appointments via social networking, hotlines and building community conversation topics to have the knowledge and skills to implement initiatives.
Can you tell us about how organizations, such as Lighthouse Social Enterprise, can help advocate for differentiated HIV testing services?
As a community-led organization, we work directly with the community as well as with stakeholders; we are advocating for policies and laws that allow community organizations to provide services not only for HIV counselling and testing services but also treatment, care and STI services. We collect community ideas about services and needs as well as initiatives to mobilize agencies, donors and organizations working with the community to strengthen existing and on-going programmes.
Lighthouse is also focusing efforts on building friendly health facilities for the community through sensitization trainings for health providers, including technical assistance to health facilities and toolkits and guidance needed to communicate effectively with the community. We support the decorating of some facilities, providing documents and books related to the community and guidance on how to share widely about community-friendly services. The changes are also measured through prior evaluation and after the intervention with feedback on community satisfaction.
We also implement research to collect information about needs, barriers that inhibit access to services and ideas from the community to share with existing projects, governments and stakeholders to inform advocacy efforts around building a favorable environment, providing comprehensive services and implementing differentiated services to men who have sex with men.
What do you want people to know about differentiated HIV testing approaches in your region?
We want to let everyone know that, in Viet Nam and our region, even though the community has just started to participate in providing services we still do a very good job, making meaningful contributions to HIV prevention in the country and regional programmes. We need to be trusted and empowered as well as build capacity to continue to maintain, expand and advocate for differentiated services. We will only stop HIV/AIDS together.
