Established in 2005, the Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Lesotho (BCMCFL) is an independent organization based in Maseru. This local partner engages in clinical research and provides pediatric and family-centered care. Because there are currently no medical schools in Lesotho, BCMCFL also offers vital on-the-job training for national medical professionals and allied health workers. Services offered through Baylor include HIV and TB prevention and treatment (including pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP]) and cervical cancer screening.
In 2019, BCMCFL was awarded the Expanding TB and HIV Clinical Services (ETHICS) project. ETHICS called for the organization to support Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities in two districts: Butha-Buthe and Mokhotlong. This required BCMCFL to expand its technical scope and extend service coverage beyond its Centers of Excellence. Accordingly, EGPAF partnered with this organization to scale-up services and capacities in the areas of PrEP and cervical cancer screening.
Strengthening National Expertise in PrEP and Enhancing Local Networks
“Our EGPAF colleagues are always readily available to support us, either formally or informally through a WhatsApp message. Whenever we require assistance, we know that we can always reach out to the EGPAF team for assistance.”
Dr. Limpho Seeiso, BCMCFL’s Senior Advisor for Prevention
As a result of EGPAF mentorship and TA, BCMCFL:
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Because EGPAF and BCMCFL have a lengthy history of collaboration, staff had existing intra-organizational relationships. This made for productive mentorship efforts and easy exchange of best practices and lessons learned.
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Taking inspiration from EGPAF advisors, BCMCFL opted to forego the usual slow down typical of the holiday season: ensuring consistent presence in its facilities from November through January. This time was used to implement an index testing project that incorporated PrEP.
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Significantly, BCMCFL managed to extend services to migrant workers – a population it would have missed if not for the timing of this initiative.
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By recreating successful practices shared through the learning network, BCMCFL successfully implemented an approach commonly used by EGPAF to improve their project performance.
Expansion of Quality Cervical Cancer Services
In 2019, BCMCFL was tasked with extending its cervical cancer screening services to MoH-supported facilities in the Butha-Buthe and Mokhotlong districts. In support, EGPAF partnered with this organization to identify barriers to program expansion. The TCA revealed a lack of cervical cancer screening and treatment guidelines, inconsistent knowledge and skill levels among service providers, and insufficient documentation and data monitoring processes.
As a result of EGPAF mentorship and TA, BCMCFL:
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Increased its cervical screening capacity from 33 clients in November 2020 to 1,831 at the close of September 2021
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Achieved 98% of its donor-set screening target
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Expanded services to all its target facilities using a combination of facility-based and mobile teams
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Enhanced organizational knowledge and skill as it grew in scale