In 1994, Dr. Craig Cohen and his colleague Dr. Elizabeth Bukusi at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) established the Research Care and Treatment Program (RCTP) a collaboration with projects in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya.  In addition to conducting research, the goal of the program is to enhance local capacity to conduct biomedical research through training and infrastructure development. RCTP employs over 200 full-time staff in Kenya including epidemiologists, physicians, nurse-counselors, laboratory technologists, field workers, data managers, biostatisticians and administrative staff.  This work is continued as the Family AIDS Care and Education Services (FACES), a program of the Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health

FACES launched with the original site in Nairobi in 2004 and second site in Kisumu, Nyanza Province in 2005, with a focus on HIV care and treatment, as well as HIV testing and counseling services.  FACES rapidly expanded in Kisumu and the island district of Suba, a fishing community along Lake Victoria’s shores with an HIV prevalence of 27% – the highest in the country.  In 2007, FACES support extended to Prevention of Parent-to-Child Transmission (PPCT) and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) services and expanded geographically to the underserved, rural districts of Migori, Rongo, and Nyatike.

FACES now supports over 130 health facilities in Kisumu East, Suba, Mbita, Migori, Rongo, and Nyatike districts in Nyanza and two sites in Nairobi. Over 121,000 patients have enrolled in care and over 51,000 have initiated antiretroviral treatment (ART).