GSS EU Science Funding Gateway

There is wide recognition (including by ECDC, UNAIDS and WHO) that community responses must play an increasing role in addressing the epidemics and many Member States include community-based services in their response. Further support is needed to broaden the reach of services, supporting retention in care, increasing demand, monitoring quality, advancing human rights and combatting stigma and discrimination. The action will foster the development of integrated community-based services, the setting-up of Union-wide networks and the design of tools/guides for community-based services.

This action will support the implementation of the generated knowledge, as well as piloted good practices.

Activities shall include one or more of the below topics:

(a) the strengthening and expansion of community voluntary testing, early diagnosis and linkage to care of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections as well as counselling. They will also pursue harm-reduction, peer support, prison-in-reach and through-care services approaches in hard-to-reach vulnerable groups;

(b) the implementation and scaling up of tools developed under previous actions and other practical approaches to support community-based activities. This will include implementation and quality assurance of Union-wide standardised indicators on testing and linkage to care and treatment among key risk groups;

(c) consolidation of the existing network(s) of community-based services in Europe in order to forge closer interaction, facilitate the exchange of best practice and promote innovative approaches fostering the increase of early diagnosis of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases and linkage to care in Europe among the most affected groups.