Microplanning with PWID

Globally, people who inject drugs (PWID) are disproportionately affected by HIV. PWID are 28 times more likely to be living with HIV than the general population. PWID also have higher rates of hepatitis C virus HCV and TB than the general population. Micro-planning is an outreach methodology that decentralises the planning and management of outreach to peer educators who work with PWID at the grassroots level. A process evaluation of micro-planning as a service delivery model on NACOSA’s People Who Use Drugs Programme, funded by the Global Fund, was conducted for NACOSA by the CHAPS and Sediba Hope Medical Centre.

The evaluation found that the micro-planning approach contributed to making HIV testing services more accessible.

The programme was successfully implemented across each of the districts to varying extents, with some districts experiencing more implementation challenges than others. While the approach was found to be methodologically sound and effective regarding the individual-level focus and planning, when applied within the programme’s broader resource-constrained environment, micro-planning becomes more challenging to implement sustainably.

“The micro-planning approach contributes to strong relationships between peers and programme beneficiaries, the creation of agency and purpose for peer educators, and better relationships between team members.”