The Saath-Saath project, funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID), on Monday completed its five-year programme in areas, including HIV prevention, care and treatment.

According to a statement released by Fhi 360, a non-profit human development organisation, the Saath-Saath project will be replaced by Linkages Nepal beginning on October 2016 and will support in Nepal’s goal of an Aids-free generation. The statement further read that the support will also be extended to country’s achievement of the 90 percent diagnosis of HIV-infected and place 90 percent of these individuals on ART.

“USAID designed and implemented the Saath-Saath project (2011-16) in consultation with and under the leadership of the Ministry of Health,” the statement read. “The project met its goal of reducing the transmission and impact of HIV/Aids and improving reproductive health among more than 500,000 key affected populations in 33 districts of Nepal.”

Over the last 23 years, USAID’s HIV response and support contributed significantly to contain the HIV epidemic in Nepal, according to the statement. “It helped streamline and standardise the country’s HIV prevention and care services,” it said, adding that it extended support to expand the availability of HIV testing services along with access to anti-retroviral drugs for key populations.”