Background HIV prevalence among men having sex with men (MSM) in Kenya is 18.2%. Despite scale-up of HIV testing services, many MSM remain unaware of their HIV status and thus do not benefit from accessing HIV treatment or prevention services. HIV self-testing (HIVST) may help address this gap. However, evidence is limited on how, when, and in what contexts the delivery of HIVST to MSM could increase awareness of HIV status and lead to early linkage to HIV treatment and prevention. Methods The study will be embedded within existing MSM-focused community-based HIV prevention and treatment programmes in 3 counties in Kenya (Kisumu, Mombasa, Kiambu). The study is designed to assess three HIV testing outcomes among MSM, namely a) coverage b) frequency of testing and c) early uptake of testing. The study will adopt a mixed methods programme science approach to the implementation and evaluation of HIVST strategies via: (i) a baseline and endline bio-behavioural survey with 1400 MSM; (ii) a socio-sexual network study with 351 MSM; (iii) a longitudinal qualitative cohort study with 72 MSM; (iv) routine programme monitoring in three sites; (v) a programme-specific costing exercise; and (vi) mathematical modelling. This protocol evaluates the impact of community-based implementation of HIV self-testing delivery strategies among MSM in Kenya on reducing the undiagnosed MSM population, and time for linkage to prevention, treatment and care following HIV self-testing. Baseline data collection started in April 2019 and the endline data collection will start in July 2020. Discussion This study is one of the first programme science studies in Sub-Saharan Africa exploring the effectiveness of integrating HIVST interventions within already existing HIV prevention and treatment programmes for MSM in Kenya at scale. Findings from this study will inform national best approaches to scale up HIVST among MSM in Kenya.

Objectives Nutrition International (NI) sought to standardize and add novel indicators to the multiple coverage surveys conducted each year on maternal, newborn, infant and child nutrition programs to assure quality and timely, gender-related data that meets next-generation monitoring needs. Methods In collaboration with Campbell Collaboration (CC) and University of Toronto (UT), NI developed a comprehensive step-wise survey toolkit with multiple intervention modules using a systematic process for selecting and contextualizing indicators (NI), validating data quality (NI-UT) and piloting gender indicators derived based on statistical modelling results using Demographic and Health Survey gender and nutrition related data (CC-NI). The resulting Nutrition Information Monitoring Systems (NIMS) toolkit now includes ODK formatted questionnaire templates, quality control and assurance checklists and ready-to-use SPSS syntax for data analysis and interpretation purposes. NIMS derives its results from household-level information through the following modules: zinc and Oral Rehydration Salts coverage for diarrhea treatment, maternal-newborn nutrition, weekly iron-folic acid supplementation among adolescent girls, and infant and young child nutrition – each with selected knowledge components and newly-devised gender-related questions to inform NI's nutrition-sensitive programs. Selected modules were implemented in NI's ten intervention countries 2019–20. Results Application of these procedures and quality metrics allowed NI program officers to: 1) systematically assess quality during data collection – identifying and correcting surveyor errors and potential sampling bias in a timely fashion, 2) validate and visually demonstrate data quality to relevant stakeholders, and 3) produce quality assured data within 1–3 weeks, compared to 1–3 months for previous surveys that did not use the NIMS procedures and tools. Conclusions This systematic approach facilitated reporting timely, quality assured nutrition program data to inform how NI interventions and gender-related analyses will identify how NI's programming can be more gender-responsive. Funding Sources CanWaCH, Global Affairs Canada and Nutrition International.