New Publication Explains Community Treatment Observatories (CTOs) and Provides Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

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ITPC’s new flagship publication explains what a CTO is, how it works, why it is important, and how to develop one.

ITPC is proud to launch a new publication on a model for community-led monitoring: Community Treatment Observatories (CTOs). Available in both English and French, as well as in full-length and summary format, the guide explains how communities can systematically collect and analyze health data to ensure accountability and drive change.

This publication is a detailed guide for developing a CTO, explaining what a CTO is—as defined and designed by ITPC—and outlines the structure, purpose and benefits of a CTO.

Why is this important?

Over the last decade, ITPC has been monitoring the scale up and quality of HIV treatment in different countries around the world from a community perspective. In South Asia and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA), ITPC has monitored supply chain management issues and drug stock outs. In 2015, with the support from Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), ITPC formalized CTOs in East Africa, West Africa, Central Africa and Latin America. Building on this foundation, in 2017, ITPC launched the Regional Community Treatment Observatory in West Africa (RCTO-WA) monitoring treatment access issues in 11 countries in the region.

Through this work, ITPC has refined CTOs as a model for community-led monitoring. This publication illustrates how CTOs can inform HIV treatment advocacy, and explains how they can be operationalized in various contexts, with examples from our RCTO-WA.


Who is The CTO Model guide for?

This guide is intended for any organization or community interested in community-led monitoring, including, but not limited to, community-based organizations, PLHIV networks, and program implementers.

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Watch What Matters is a community monitoring and research initiative that gathers data on access to and quality of HIV treatment globally. It fulfills one of ITPC’s core strategic objectives, to ensure that those in power remain accountable to the communities they serve. 

The RCTO-WA is a consortium project empowering networks of people living with HIV to systematically collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data on barriers to access. The goal is to increase access to treatment in 11 West African countries: Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. The project focuses on five populations – men who have sex with men (MSM), sex workers, people who inject drugs (PWID), pregnant women and young people—who are at greater risk of HIV infection and face greater challenges to accessing HIV prevention and treatment services. Find out more at www.WatchWhatMatters.com