CHBC Program in Doti and Kailali Districts

Community and Home Based Care (CHBC) is one of the crucial care provided to people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHA) in Nepal. It consists of care which responds to the physical, social, emotional and spiritual needs of PLHA. And is critically important for people living far from treatment and care facilities. Various studies worldwide support the fact that ART adherence is stronger in CHBC service areas than where CHBC is not available.

CHBC teams provide comprehensive care and support services including symptom care, pain management, TB screening, referral for VCT, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) referral and support, referral for other necessary Continuum of Care (CoC) services and ART support. CHBC services are PLHA-friendly and they reinforce the concept of “positive living” with psychosocial and spiritual counseling.

In addition to strictly home based activities, CHBC teams assist PLHA support groups with networking for sustainability, income generation and skills building activities. They also invest in reducing stigma and discrimination in the community by coordinating awareness raising activities.

CHBC teams are also closely linked to the GoN ART sites (Seti Zonal Hospital,) and have contributed greatly to linking the PLHA from rural communities to the regular care they need from these ART sites.