- Keywords > HIV - ProQ: Quantification Software for HIV Tests
- Keywords > HIV infection
- Keywords > HIV prevention
- Keywords > HIV test kits
- Keywords > HIV test requirements
- Keywords > quantification - HIV test kits
- Keywords > supply chains
- Keywords > supply management
- Keywords > tests
- Keywords > chaîne de distribution
(2003; 43 pages)
To date, most HIV/AIDS program interventions have been small-scale, pilot interventions that worked well because a large number of human and financial resources were focused on a small audience. Quantification, procurement, and supply chain management of HIV test kits and other commodities for small programs is less complicated than for larger, more complex programs. Program managers are under increasing pressure to make decisions about allocating funding for the purchase of HIV test kits to support major HIV/AIDS program expansion. Therefore, this guide was developed as a tool for the systematic, accurate quantification of HIV test requirements to help program managers identify their needs and manage their commodities more effectively.
This guide provides background on the use of HIV tests and commonly used testing protocols. It also discusses the steps in and data collection for quantification. Guidance is provided for quantifying for seven different uses for HIV tests. These include ensuring safe blood supply; providing voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) services; preventing mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT); testing HIV-exposed babies; providing clinical diagnosis in hospital and health facility settings; conducting sentinel surveillance; supporting other uses including research, training, and the testing of other specific populations or groups. For each of those uses, guidance is provided for the appropriate quantification methodologies. The methodologies discussed include using logistics or consumption data; demographic and morbidity data; service statistics; and targets. The guide also addresses the need to carefully assess service capacity for both counseling and testing to avoid purchasing more tests than can be administered by a program, resulting in major loss of product through expiration.
The DELIVER project automated the approach to quantifying HIV test requirements described in this guide through the development of a software program called ProQ: Quantification Software for HIV Tests.
The approach in this guide was developed from a variety of sources, including a study of available literature, interviews with those implementing programs in the field, and the experience of DELIVER staff in quantifying for HIV tests and other health commodities.