CORE: Lessons from a Community-Led Testing Project
CORE (COmmunity REsponse to End Inequalities) was a three-year EU4Health project that strengthened community-led testing and linkage to care for people most often left out of national HIV, hepatitis and STI responses. Across Europe, partners carried out more than 678,000 integrated screening sessions for HIV, viral hepatitis and syphilis, alongside nearly 17,000 self-tests. They also distributed 2.7 million condoms and almost 600,000 lubricants to key populations, helping people protect their health in low-threshold, community-based settings.
Noaks Ark Mosaik’s contribution: from pilot to national model
Within CORE, Noaks Ark Mosaik demonstrated an integrated testing model that combines:
- Peer-led outreach and counselling
- Low-threshold testing offers in community settings
- Strategic use of digital tools to reach and follow up with clients
This approach reduced barriers linked to stigma, migration status, language and economic vulnerability, making it easier for people to access testing and be linked to care. The model proved so effective that it was scaled up and adopted within the formal health system in Sweden, showing that community organisations can design and deliver high-quality services that complement and strengthen public healthcare.
Key lessons: strong impact, fragile funding
The CORE experience confirms that integrated, community-led testing is more effective than single-disease, clinic-based approaches in many contexts. Offering one test that covers several infections reduces HIV-specific stigma, increases uptake and builds trust through peer workers. It also strengthens local organisations and generates evidence that can be used to change policies and practice.
At the same time, CORE took place in a context of deep funding cuts to harm reduction and HIV services across Europe. Many community organisations now face uncertain futures, despite having proven that their services work. A central lesson is that short-term project grants are not enough: community-led testing and linkage to care require long-term, stable funding from governments and health systems to survive.
Looking ahead
The CORE partner network, including Noaks Ark Mosaik, will continue to share knowledge, tools and advocacy messages at national and EU level. For Noaks Ark Mosaik, the project reinforces our role as a bridge between communities and healthcare and underlines how crucial it is that peer-based, community-led services receive sustainable funding so people can stay informed, protected and connected to care.
Link to the main report you find here: https://www.eatg.org/publications/core-lessons-learnt-report/
