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.
The EU Steps Up for Global Health in Uncertain Times
The EU Steps Up for Global Health in Uncertain Times
Today, the European Commission announced its intention to pledge a total of €700 million overall for the 8th Global Fund’s replenishment, subject to the outcome of the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework negotiations.
At a time when budgets are under strain, priorities are competing, and the world feels increasingly unstable, stepping up for people affected by HIV, TB and malaria around the world is very welcome and a clear sign of the EU’s ambition to lead on global health. This commitment will help save millions of lives and keep everyone safer, including in Europe. It will support Africa’s ability to lead on its own health priorities, and build resilience in places under severe stress. This includes countries affected by war, such as Ukraine, where the continuity of HIV and TB services is critical not only for emergency response, but also for long-term recovery. With many donors cutting back on aid, the Commission’s renewed support for the Global Fund sends a much-needed signal of leadership and solidarity.
Sidaction and Aidsfonds are pleased to jointly launch a call for scientific proposals for the year 2026, aimed at accelerating advances in HIV cure research.
The aim of this call for proposals is to fund research projects exploring mechanisms or strategies that will contribute to achieving a cure or remission for HIV. Projects may investigate mechanisms to target the viral reservoir or enhance immune-driven control, the development of new therapeutic concepts, as well as research in the social sciences related to HIV cure or remission.
Through this call, we aim to support research that will ultimately lead to major biomedical breakthroughs, foster social acceptance of cure interventions, and promote an HIV cure accessible to the largest possible number of people living with HIV worldwide.
