Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER)

Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER)

Expanding Malawi HIV/AIDS Prevention with Local Organizations Working for an Effective Epidemic Response (EMPOWER) is a five-year project implementing DREAMS programming for adolescent girls and young women in the Zomba and Machinga districts of Malawi. Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), EMPOWER is led by FHI 360 and implemented in collaboration with two local partners — Christian Health Association of Malawi and Pakachere Institute for Health and Development Communication.

EMPOWER’s goal is to support the Government of Malawi’s commitment to epidemic control by stopping HIV transmission and preventing new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women ages 10 to 24 years. The project is designed to achieve sustainable impact by systematically transferring capacity to the government and local partners to assume responsibility for managing the HIV response.

The project aims to achieve the following results:

• Increased availability of and access to high-quality, integrated sexual reproductive health (SRH)/HIV services for adolescent girls and young women, including risk assessment and risk reduction counseling, family planning, HIV testing services, and gender-based violence care and support
• Increased utilization of integrated SRH/HIV services
• Improved access and adherence to HIV preexposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by adolescent girls and young women who meet national criteria for the treatment
• Maintenance of a shared database to track the layering of services for DREAMS program participants
• Strengthened linkage and referrals to and from DREAMS services that are implemented by other partners