SCOPE – Amplifying Community Voices for Prevention

Why?

Following results from the first cycle of the SCOPE project (2022-2024), EATG will strengthen its engagement with representatives from communities that are inadequately served in access to combination prevention. It will do so by fostering cross-sectoral collaboration and strong community engagement. The first cycle of the project fostered links between countries and across sectors, which have in turn supported the creation of new prevention interventions at local levels.

What?

The SCOPE project strengthens community engagement at local and regional levels to reduce the gap in access and use of HIV combination prevention interventions by populations that are most affected by HIV, but which remain inadequately served by the health system and which are underrepresented in policy and public debate.

SCOPE equips communities with enhanced scientific and technical knowledge, data for advocacy, networking and access to opinion leaders and policymakers to transform beliefs and attitudes currently barring the way to targeted and sustained investment (at the scale needed) to reduce HIV incidence in key populations. While operating at regional level, the project considered sub-regional local specificities.

With whom?

SCOPE is implemented in close collaboration with representatives from key populations (specifically men who have sex with me, transgender and non-binary people, migrants and people on the move, women, and people who use drugs) who face challenges in accessing combination prevention tools and services. EATG worked in partnership with key populations networks, European networks, academia, clinicians, and EU and UN agencies. EATG contracted partner organisations or community representatives for the implementation of specific tasks.

How?

The SCOPE project has two strands of work.

1. Platform for learning and networking between representatives from community-based organisations:

• Online meeting on how to use the combination prevention checklist (Q1 2025).
• Webinar on combination prevention research, innovation, and integrated service delivery person (Q3 2025).
• In-person workshop on good practices to increase inadequately served populations’ awareness and access to HIV combination prevention (June 2025).
• 1 scholarship for community policy and scientific conference and community reporting (Q4 2025).
• Small-grants for the translation/production of community-informed, specific information materials (2025).

2. Generate sound data, monitor challenges/solutions, as well as strengthen community engagement and representation in policy and programming at national and regional level.

• Monitoring the implementation of combination prevention at country level via the service checklist: multi-country reporting (2025).
• Report on transgender and non-binary stigma and sexual health in Greece (Q1-Q2 2025).
• Local policy dialogue to update laws and programmes on combination prevention for key population (2025).
• Reach out to EMA, ECDC, EACS, other healthcare professional associations to update PrEP marketing authorization for text allowing trained provider to prescribe PrEP beyond HIV specialists Reach out to non-HIV specialists: e.g. GP, Gynaecologists, etc. (Q3 2024-2025).
• Present research findings/recommendations and other relevant project data to policymakers and advocate with EC and EP, Council, WHO Europe and UNAIDS, EU agencies (2024-2025).
• European Parliament event for awareness-raining with European Commission and European Parliament (Q1 2025).

For what outcome? 

Community service providers and activists working with populations most affected by HIV have enhanced their scientific and technical knowledge of combination prevention tools, service delivery models, guidelines, and good/promising practices to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.

Policymakers’ and funders’ awareness of and willingness to implement combination prevention for HIV at the scale needed and focus on the needs of inadequately served populations will be enhanced.

The project also contributed to the recognition of peer workers and community health workers as part of the health and social care systems, and integral to addressing health inequities.

SCOPE (2022-2023)

Why?

The health and well-being of millions of people in Europe and Central Asia continues to be impacted by HIV/AIDS. Specific population groups are disproportionately affected due to socio-economic factors and inequities in the delivery of adequate prevention tools and services. In their annual surveillance report, ECDC and WHO call on countries to address inequalities and to invest in, and scale up, access to prevention programmes for most affected groups, especially those left behind. This focus is also addressed in the Global AIDS Strategy and the 2020 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. Reducing HIV incidence, improving health outcomes and the well-being of the most affected communities will require legal and policy changes, financial investments, cross-sectoral collaboration, and strong community engagement to deliver person-centred services and tools.

What?

The SCOPE (Strategic Community HIV Prevention Empowerment) project strengthened community engagement at local and regional levels to reduce the gap in access and use of HIV combination prevention interventions by populations that are most affected by HIV, but which remain inadequately served by the health system and which are underrepresented in policy and public debate.

SCOPE equiped communities with enhanced scientific and technical knowledge, data for advocacy, networking and access to opinion leaders and policymakers to transform beliefs and attitudes currently barring the way to targeted and sustained investment (at the scale needed) to reduce HIV incidence in key populations. While operating at regional level, the project considered sub-regional local specificities.

With whom?

SCOPE was implemented in close collaboration with representatives from key populations (specifically MSM, trans, migrants, women, people who use drugs) who face challenges in accessing combination prevention tools and services. EATG worked in partnership with key populations networks, European Networks, academia, clinicians, and EU and UN agencies. EATG contracted partner organisations or community representatives for the implementation of specific tasks.

How?

The SCOPE project has two strands of work.

1. Platform for learning, networking, and mutual support for representatives from community-based organisations:

• Online seminar on the biomedical HIV prevention pipeline, novel approaches, and integrated service delivery. English/Russian. (Q 2 2022, 2023).
• Hybrid Workshop on good practices to increase inadequately served populations’ awareness and access to the HIV combination prevention package. English-Russian. (Q3 in 2022)
• Small funding for the translation/production of community-informed, specific information materials (2022-23).
• Study trip of two community activists/health workers to another location per year (2022-2023).

2. Generate sound data, monitor challenges/solutions, as well as strengthen community engagement and representation in policy and programming at national and regional level.

• Developing a community consensus, working definition of ’HIV combination prevention’ and indicators of population-specific standards for prevention service delivery that can be applied and/or adapted for community monitoring purposes. (Q3 2022 – Q2 2023).
• Research on community interest, acceptability, usability and accessibility of selected combination prevention tools and approaches. (Q1-Q42023)
• Online multi-stakeholders meeting on community perspectives, on guidelines and programming recommendations for better inclusion of inadequately served groups. (Q3 – Q4 2023)
• Present research findings/recommendations and other relevant project data to policymakers (Q3-2022- Q4 2023)
• Input into the drafting of WHO/UNAIDS/EU policy/monitoring documents and programmes.

For what outcome?

Community service providers and activists working with populations most affected by HIV have enhanced their scientific and technical knowledge of combination prevention tools, service delivery models, guidelines, and good/promising practices to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV.

Policymakers’ and funders’ awareness of and willingness to implement combination prevention for HIV at the scale needed and focus on the needs of inadequately served populations will be enhanced.

The project also contributed to the recognition of peer workers and community health workers as part of the health and social care systems, and integral to addressing health inequities.