PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Hoke, Theresa AU - Bateganya, Moses AU - Toyo, Otoyo AU - Francis, Caroline AU - Shrestha, Bhagawan AU - Philakone, Phayvieng AU - Pandey, Satish Raj AU - Persaud, Navindra AU - Cassell, Michael M. AU - Wilcher, Rose AU - Mahler, Hally TI - How Home Delivery of Antiretroviral Drugs Ensured Uninterrupted HIV Treatment During COVID-19: Experiences From Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, and Nigeria AID - 10.9745/GHSP-D-21-00168 DP - 2021 Dec 31 TA - Global Health: Science and Practice PG - 978--989 VI - 9 IP - 4 4099 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/4/978.short 4100 - http://www.ghspjournal.org/content/9/4/978.full SO - GLOB HEALTH SCI PRACT2021 Dec 31; 9 AB - Key MessagesAcross diverse contexts, home delivery of antiretroviral (ARV) medications was a feasible and acceptable approach for ensuring access to HIV treatment when COVID-19-related lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed barriers to treatment.The ARV home delivery models were rapidly designed and successfully implemented to meet emergency needs brought on by the pandemic. Home delivery of ARVs requires further attention before it can be implemented at greater scale in response to the current pandemic and when health services face future shocks.Key ImplicationsGovernments and their partners are urged to seek financing mechanisms and reinforcement to commodity management systems needed to sustain this mode of decentralized service delivery.National HIV program leaders are encouraged to advocate for official, permanent policy changes supportive of home delivery of ARVs. Health policy makers should consider the relevance of home delivery to all chronic health needs requiring long-term delivery of medication to clients.Introduction:Faced with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, governments worldwide instituted lockdowns to curtail virus spread. Health facility closures and travel restrictions disrupted access to antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for people living with HIV. This report describes how HIV programs in Indonesia, Laos, Nepal, and Nigeria supported treatment continuation by introducing home delivery of ARVs.Methods:Staff supporting the programs provided accounts of when and how decisions were taken to support ARV home delivery. They captured programmatic information about home delivery implementation using an intervention documentation tool. The 4 country experiences revealed lessons learned about factors favoring successful expansion of ARV home delivery.Results:Three of the countries relied on existing networks of community health workers for ARV delivery; the fourth country, Indonesia, relied on a private sector courier service. Across the 4 countries, between 19% and 51% of eligible clients were served by home delivery. The experiences showed that ARV home delivery is feasible and acceptable to health service providers, clients, and other stakeholders. Essential to success was rapid mobilization of stakeholders who led the design of the home delivery mechanisms and provided leadership support of the service innovations. Timely service adaptation was made possible by pre-existing differentiated models of care supportive of community-based ARV provision by outreach workers. Home delivery models prioritized protection of client confidentiality and prevention measures for COVID-19. Sustainability of the innovation depends on reinforcement of the commodity management infrastructure and investment in financing mechanisms.Conclusion:Home delivery of ARVs is a feasible client-centered approach to be included among the options for decentralized drug distribution. It serves as a measure for expanding access to care both when access to health services is disrupted and under routine circumstances.