Job Description

Fixed term position until 30 September 2023 – LIKOMO ISLAND MALAWI

Job summary:

The treatment supporter is responsible for providing client support including counselling, HIV prevention, care, and treatment, while creating a conducive environment which will aid clients’ free expression of feelings.

Key responsibilities

1. Demand creation for HIV services

· Conduct structured treatment literacy sessions in designated areas (HF) to create demand for HIV testing, adherence, viral load, retention, VMMC and other services.

· Organize community mobilization/sensitization meetings

· Conduct screening for HIV testing eligibility in OPD for high yield of HIV testing

· Facilitate HIV self -test kit distribution to eligible clients at both facility and community level

2. Screening clients

· Conduct screening for index testing among eligible HIV positive clients (New, HVL, defaulters), and referral of contacts to HIV testing services.

· Conduct systematic TB and Covid 19 screening in ART and OPD and refer clients to appropriate services.

· Conduct screening for depression among clients accessing HIV services and refer clients with depression to psychosocial counselors for advanced support.

· Conduct screening for eligibility to other HIV related services e.g., cervical cancer screening, PrEP, family planning, etc.

3. Linkage to care and treatment.

· Assist with patient referrals, escorting HIV+ clients from HIV testing services (HTS) to ART clinic, explaining why the referral was made and what services will be given at the referral point.

· Provide individual and group pre- ART initiation counselling and support to clients who are starting/restarting ART.

· Work with HDA to generate and collect the list of HIV+ clients including infants and children not linked to care after 7 days and make follow up.

· Work with other implementing partners doing community testing to assist with linkage of clients tested positive in the community.

4. Back to care Program

· Organize Master cards and make pre- appointment phone call reminders.

· Book clients for their next appointment.

· In liaison with data clerks, generate a list of missed appointment and document them in the follow up/ tracing register.

· Make phone call follow-ups and home tracing for missed appointment, defaulters, clients with detectable viral load, positive EID and others

· Document properly in all retention tools on follow up reasons and results outcomes.

· Facilitate referral of patients and caregivers to community-based care and support services including OVC.

5. Provision of individualized psychosocial support

· Assess client risk and identify clients in need of psychosocial counselling during ART clinic

· Provide comprehensive individualized counselling to clients with high and moderate risk and follow up in care based on protocol.

· Provide intensive adherence counseling (IAC) to clients with unsuppressed viral load as guided in adherence SOP and national guidelines

· Refer clients who need advanced individualized counselling services to psychosocial counselors

· Provide support to clients who require sero -status disclosure to their partners, family members and children.

· Collaborate with community-based partners providing psychosocial support to ART clients to refer clients from community to facility and vice -versa.

· Support Psychosocial Support Groups (PSSG) and support back to care PSSG activities.

Minimum qualifications

MSCE

Required competencies, skills, and experience.

1) Experience with HIV/AIDS prevention, counseling, care and support

2) Strong interpersonal skills to engage staff and community members.

3) Fluent in written and oral local language and English

4) Should be proactive in relation to identifying and undertaking activities that are beneficial to the advancement of the HIV program.

5) Community development training and /or HIV management training or experience will be an added advantage

About the Organization

Right to Care is at the vanguard in supporting and delivering prevention, care, and treatment services for HIV and associated diseases. We work with government and communities to find pioneering solutions to build and strengthening public healthcare.

We embrace a strong entrepreneurial culture and focuses on innovation and the use of technology to enhance services, address skills shortages, and deliver quality healthcare outcomes. Our areas of expertise include HIV and TB care and treatment, pharmacy automation, medical male circumcision, and cervical cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Closes : April 19, 2023