Care for People Living With HIV/AIDS
People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) will have access to care and treatment. They will be open about their health status and people in the communities around them will be ready to assist them in any way possible. This will be reached through the creation of Support and Action Groups in the communities, where local people learn about AIDS, help PLWHA and go out teaching about AIDS. Lobby for treatment at the general referral hospital in Adi with the medical autorities in Aru Territory and facilitation of a training that will be organized for the hospital staff by the National AIDS Program is part of these actions to take.
About You
About You
First Name
Annemarie
Last Name
Boks
Facebook Profile
About Your Organization
Organization Name
Africa Inland Mission
Organization Website
Organization Phone
+44 115 9838 120
Organization Address
Halifax Place Nottingham Nottinghamshire NG1 1QN
Organization Country
United Kingdom, NGM
Country where this project is creating social impact
Congo (Kinshasa), OR
Is your organization a
Non‐profit/NGO/citizen sector organization
How long has your organization been operating?
More than 5 years
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Innovation
Entry Form title
Care for People Living With HIV/AIDS
What change do you want to bring to the world?
People living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) will have access to care and treatment. They will be open about their health status and people in the communities around them will be ready to assist them in any way possible. This will be reached through the creation of Support and Action Groups in the communities, where local people learn about AIDS, help PLWHA and go out teaching about AIDS. Lobby for treatment at the general referral hospital in Adi with the medical autorities in Aru Territory and facilitation of a training that will be organized for the hospital staff by the National AIDS Program is part of these actions to take.
What are the primary activities of your project?
Creation and training of Support and Action Groups in the local communities and churches so that their members will assist PLWHA and also to teach in their communities about AIDS (even together with PLWHA).
Assist them to search for innovative ways to generate income so that in their assistance of PLWHA they are not dependent on outside funding but they will find the means in the local community. Continue working with the medical autorities to facilitate the training for the hospital staff so that ARV treatment and care is available in Adi Hospital.
What is innovative about your initiative? How is it a new contribution to the field?
The presence of Support and Action Groups in the local churches and communities makes that AIDS is not an issue anymore to be hidden but a topic that can be openly discussed. PLWHA who were hiding themselves for fear of the reaction of the people and because of shame for having AIDS will come out (and are coming out) openly and share their testimonies thus creating awareness in the communities. Another FBO (CIELS) is working to create support groups for PLWHA. However, in the Support and Action Groups we want to reach out to the whole population and PLWHA will be member of the SAG together with people not living with AIDS. They can be an encouragement to each other and PLWHA can stimulate, through their testimonies about having AIDS, healthy living behavior among the population.
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
Tell us about the community that you engage? eg. economic conditions, political structures, norms and values, demographic trends, history, and experience with engagement efforts.
Adi is located in the northeast of the DRC in an agricultural area where the cash crop is tobacco. This gives lots of problems in society especially when there is money around as this is used for alcohol, drugs and illicit sex by the men. The area is stable but has had an influx of internally displaced people from further northwest after attacks of the LRA there.
In the years that the AIDS Awareness Program is active in the region, we have seen more openness of PLWHA about their status. They participate with us in teaching in the communities and schools about AIDS by giving their testimonies and answering questions. At the moment more than 3000 PLWHA are known in the area and they all go to Uganda for treatment with ARV. Thus the necessity to lobby for a treatment program at the hospital in Adi. In this lobbying we are collaborating with the medical autorities in the health zone of Adi, with the medical district in Aru Territory and with other NGO working in the area.
Share the story of the founder and what inspired the founder to start this project
The CECA church leaders realized that AIDS is also in the church and decided to be involved in the fight against the disease. As CECA churches are everywhere in the northeast of the country these churches are a tool in reaching the communities with information about AIDS and in reaching out to the PLWHA. The program started in 1999 and began reaching out to schools in Bunia. Because of the fighting in Bunia in 2002 the program moved to the Territory of Aru. The program expanded and started reaching out with education about AIDS also to Bible Schools, churches and local communities through video shows, seminars, developing teaching materials. During these activities it became clear that the church could even be more involved in reaching out to the PLWHA and to the communities around and the idea was launched to create Support and Action Groups. So far around 20 SAG have been created and trained and these are reaching out to the communities with their teaching about AIDS and their care for PLWHA.
Social Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
Please describe how your project has been successful and how that success is measured
Concentration on four health zones (Adi, Ariwara, Adja and Aru) started in 2007. Since then Support and Action Groups have been created and are now active in more than 20 communities. Often the SAG work together with PLWHA to teach the local communities about AIDS. PLWHA declare themselves being HIV positive (so far around 3000 in the Territory of Aru are known) and form a united group to lobby for ARV treatment to be available in Adi hospital.
How many people have been impacted by your project?
1,001- 10,000
How many people could be impacted by your project in the next three years?
More than 10,000
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
20 new Support and Action Groups have been created and trained in the 4 health zones (Adi, Aru, Ariwara and Adja) and their members are active in their communities.
Task 1
Identify and list communities where to implement the Support and Action Groups.
Task 2
Create and train 20 of these communities.
Task 3
Follow-up the activities of these 20 SAG is planned and done.
Identify your 12-month impact milestone
Training for hospital staff has taken place and a treatment and care program for PLWHA has been started in Adi hospital.
Task 1
Find funding for this training and identify the hospital staff who are to be trained.
Task 2
Organize the training in collaboration with the National AIDS Program.
Task 3
Assure the availability of ARV at Adi Hospital.
How will your project evolve over the next three years?
Although Adi Hospital will be able to start treating only a small number of PLWHA with ARV at the start of their treatment program after the training, within three years up to one third of the now known PLWHA (around 1,000) will receive their treatment in Adi.
In all the communities where there is a CECA 20 church present a SAG is active in the community to teach about AIDS and to assist PLWHA. Every SAG has projects of income generation that makes it possible to be independent of outside help.
Sustainability
What barriers might hinder the success of your project and how do you plan to overcome them?
The creation and training of SAG does not know high barriers as even today, with no money available, some of the church members give themselves as volunteers to continue reaching out to local churches and communities in creating new SAG and train them.
It is requested by the National AIDS Program that the hospital staff of Adi Hospital is trained by them before the hospital can start with their treatment and care program and it will be them to give the training. This training is expensive (an all inclusive training will cost $25,000), and if not funded by outside financial help, it is impossible for the hospital to organize this training.
Tell us about your partnerships
We are united with the staff of Adi Hospital as we are lobbying for ARV treatment and care for PLWHA to be done from Adi Hospital. Also another FBO (CIELS) and the staff of Adi Health Zone are included in this lobbying. The medical coordination of CECA (based in Bunia) is in contact with the staff of the National AIDS Program of Congo.
Current annual budget of project, in US dollars
$50,001‐100,000
Explain your selections
So far we have received funding from one Dutch NGO (Red een Kind) for the work in the four health zones and this funding ended in December 2010 as the funding period ended. Further all the money we have received came from AIM, friends of AIM, personal friends of Annemarie. Proposals to ask for funding have been written and sent but without a positive response so far.
How do you plan to strengthen your project in the next three years?
The existing SAG will be involved in income generating projects so they will not be dependent on outside funding for their assistance they give to PLWHA and the education they give in the communities. These income generating projects can be of agricultural origine or whatever activities the SAG themselves chose and that builds up their community.
They will be provided with locally made teaching materials, like the movie produced by the AIDS Awareness Program in 2010 in languages the population understands and speaks.
Local people will be involved in the production of teaching materials.
Challenges
Which barriers to health and well-being does your innovation address?
Please select up to three in order of relevancy to your project.
PRIMARY
Other (Specify Below)
SECONDARY
Lack of physical access to care/lack of facilities
TERTIARY
Limited access to preventative tools or resources
Please describe how your innovation specifically tackles the barriers listed above.
The primary barrier is the lack of assistance to PLWHA and teaching about AIDS in the communities and we aim to solve this by creating Support and Action Groups in these communities. Volunteers will be trained to be peer educators and care takers of PLWHA in their community.
Secondary barrier is the lack of access to treatment with ARV. That's why we are lobbying with the medical autorities of Aru Territory and with the National AIDS Program to facilitate a training for the hospital staff at Adi Hospital to be able to establish a treatment and care program at the hospital.
Third barrier is the lack of preventative tools. Many teaching materials are in French, or even English and Congo Swahili. Neither of which can be used with the local population who speak Kakwa, Lugbara or Bangala.
How are you growing the impact of your organization or initiative?
Please select up to three potential pathways in order of relevancy to you.
PRIMARY
Grown geographic reach: Within host country
SECONDARY
Enhanced existing impact through addition of complementary services
TERTIARY
Other (please specify below)
Please describe which of your growth activities are current or planned for the immediate future.
The existance of Support and Action Groups will be extended through their testimony and training of new groups. Enhancing impact will be through the training of hospital staff in order for the hospital in Adi to start a treatment and care program for PLWHA.
The lack of teaching materials in local languages will be resolved with production of materials in these local languages (books, audio-visual materials...)
Do you collaborate with any of the following: (Check all that apply)
Government, NGOs/Nonprofits.
If yes, how have these collaborations helped your innovation to succeed?
The collaboration with the local government and other NGOs in the region results in the organisation of activities around World AIDS Day (like a discussion forum, films, defilé, manifestations with talks of PLWHA and well-known people in the region...). It makes known to the local population that AIDS is nothing to be ashamed about, and that PLWHA are part of the community.
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 | 83 weeks ago Annemarie Boks said: I have heard that two of my ex colleagues have organized workshops in three church sections to create Support and Action Groups there! about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 87 weeks ago Annemarie Boks updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Annemarie Boks updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Annemarie Boks updated this Competition Entry. |
| 88 weeks ago Annemarie Boks updated this Competition Entry. |
| 97 weeks ago Annemarie Boks updated this Competition Entry. |
| 97 weeks ago Annemarie Boks submitted this idea. |
