Our system enables children to adhere to treatment
Last updated on: 04 March 2024
We have been able to deliver a system, a health care system, that brings all communities, that brings all families into a system where they’re able to receive treatment, where they’re able to be retained and supported in HIV/AIDS care. Says Richard Ochen of Health Need Uganda, one of the valuable partners in the Towards an AIDS free Generation in Uganda (TAFU) programme. He reflects on eight years of TAFU programme and why community leadership is so important in ensuring children living with HIV have access to the care they need. Watch his interview!
“One of the things that we have learned, which is very, very key is that communities are places where you get social support, support in form of a family. But you also get assets at the community that are very relevant, and very important as far as care for the children are concerned. It is where you can get food. It’s where you can get nutritional support. It’s where you can get psychological support. These are factors which are very, very key. We have been able to deliver a system, a health care system, that brings all communities that brings all families into a system where they’re able to receive treatment, where they’re able to be retained and supported in HIV/AIDS care.
We have put a community system that is able to locate children, a system that is able to link children, a system that is able to put children in treatment, but also very, very important a system that has been able to retain and adhere children to treatment. And I think going forward, we are very much confident that the number of children that are put on treatment are going to live and live forever.”
About Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda (TAFU) Programme
The Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda programme was Aidsfonds’ first paediatric HIV community intervention programme co-created with Ugandan community-based partner organisations. The program trained community resource persons and village health teams to identify children living with HIV, refer them to health facilities and follow up on them after they are enrolled in HIV care. Based on the successes and learnings of TAFU in Uganda, Aidsfonds scaled paediatric HIV programming to four other countries between 2018-2021: Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique and Nigeria. These five programmes, co-developed with partner organisations form the basis for the Aidsfonds Kids to Care model for community based paediatric HIV programming.
The Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda (TAFU) programme was Aidsfonds’ first paediatric HIV community intervention programme. The programme trained up community health workers to identify HIV positive children, and link individuals to care and ongoing support. The programme was co-created through community leadership and engagement with key stakeholders, building on community knowledge of the needs of children living with HIV. Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda changed the way that community-based paediatric HIV services were delivered.
Sidaction and Aidsfonds are pleased to jointly launch a 2 million euros call for scientific proposals for the year 2025, dedicated to accelerating advances in HIV cure research. This initiative aims to mobilise researchers from France, the Netherlands and African countries around this crucial issue for global health.
The World is on the Brink of a Humanitarian Disaster. The Trump administration has decided to permanently cut 92% of all development aid provided through USAID with immediate effect. This is a catastrophe for global health, security, and stability and will cost millions of lives. Estimates suggest that this decision alone will result in 8.7 million new HIV infections and 6.3 million AIDS-related deaths. Additionally, millions more will die due to a lack of food, clean drinking water, and life-saving medical care.
Previously, the U.S. had announced a 90-day review period to evaluate all aid programmes. However, the decision to halt aid immediately comes much sooner than expected. The U.S. government states that over 90% of aid programs are "not in line with the America First policy" and is cutting $60 billion per year in humanitarian aid. This comes at a time when millions of people worldwide rely on this support for survival.
"This is a humanitarian disaster that will cause millions of deaths. Even the most life-saving programmes, such as the distribution of HIV medication, have now been stopped. We therefore urgently call on Minister Veldkamp to meet with his European colleagues to take immediate action. If Europe does not act now, the consequences will be irreversible," says Mark Vermeulen, director of Aidsfonds.
The decision comes shortly after a U.S. court ordered the Trump administration to resume aid programmes payments. Instead of receiving the promised budget, aid organisations received a letter last night announcing that all USAID assistance has been immediately stopped.
