GlobeMed at Columbia

Our project: hiv/aids awareness

In 4 bullet points…

•  HIV awareness and sensitization

•  Capacity building of voluntary community health workers

•  Promoting maternal and newborn health

•  Supporting health facilities through provision of equipment

Objective 1 HIV/AIDS awareness and

sensitization

Why did we choose this objective?

•  Lack of knowledge in communities about HIV prevention

•  Prevalence of HIV in northern Uganda: ~6.5%

•  Sensitization campaigns were a turning point for HIV positive beneficiaries

•  Important to educate before doing a blood screening

•  Strong link between HIV transmission and gender-based violence

•  Youth group response: they abandon their farming to educate peers about HIV

Objective 1: HIV/AIDS Awareness + sensitization

What will this objective accomplish?

Objective 1: HIV/AIDS Awareness + sensitization

•  Increased levels of HIV/AIDS awareness and gender-based violence (GBV) prevention

•  Reduced levels of discrimination and stigmatization of HIV clients

•  Increased care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)

•  Increased freedom of discussion about HIV management and prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) at the family level

How will we accomplish this objective?

•  Continue and scale up awareness and sensitization on HIV/AIDS prevention

•  Incorporate GBV prevention and response approaches to sensitization campaigns

•  Add livelihood components to current youth groups and HIV positive women’s groups

•  Establish routine HIV/AIDS counseling and testing (HCT) services by conducting group counseling and individual counseling

Objective 1: HIV/AIDS Awareness + sensitization

Objective 2 Health worker capacity

building

Why did we choose this objective?

•  Health workers are key in spreading awareness and provide care for HIV positive patients

•  Loss of livelihood and income due to voluntary health work

•  Lack of official nature to VHT position

•  Transportation into villages is difficult

•  Rainy season impedes VHTs from doing good work

Objective 2: health worker capacity building

Objective 2: health worker capacity building

What will this objective accomplish?

•  Increased knowledge and skills for health workers

•  Increased understanding for VHTs about conducting home visits

•  Increased knowledge on the existing health centers/hospital referral points for HIV clients and mothers on PMTCT, HCT, ANC, and family planning

•  Increased numbers of clients reporting for counseling and testing

How will we accomplish this objective?

•  Conduct refresher trainings to 20 VHTs on best practices and skills in HIV prevention management, community sensitization, conducting outreaches and home visits, and making referrals

•  Provide 5 bicycles to VHTs, 20 rainboots, and 20 raincoats to reinforce outreaches

•  Incentives for VHTs in the form of salt, sugar, and soap

•  Encourage male VHTs’ wives to join existing women’s groups

Objective 2: health worker capacity building

Objective 3 Promote maternal and

newborn health

Why did we choose this objective?

•  Lack of knowledge about prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) among HIV positive women and their husbands

•  Women have HIV free babies, but their children are still malnourished

•  Lack of livelihood support for women

•  Women know about PMTCT, but men not as knowledgeable

Objective 3: Promote maternal + newborn health

Objective 3: Promote maternal + newborn health

What will this objective accomplish?

•  Increased knowledge on PMTCT for HIV positive women and their husbands

•  Reduced numbers of HIV infected babies born to HIV positive women

•  Reduced numbers of malnourished children born to HIV positive women

How will we accomplish this objective?

•  Enroll 40 mothers for PMTCT and antenatal care (ANC) services and counseling after testing

•  Provide counseling for pregnant couples, allowing men to become partners in health and family planning

•  Conduct referrals for PMTCT services and ensure availability of emergency obstetric care & newborn care within health facilities

•  Incorporate nutritional education and support supplements to mothers and their babies in the form of vegetable seeds

Objective 3: Promote maternal + newborn health

Objective 4 Support to health facilities

Objective 4: support to health facilities

Why did we choose this objective?

•  PMTCT education could be all for naught if health facilities do not have supplies to perform a safe birth because HIV can be transmitted through fluids during childbirth

•  Health facilities lack safe birth materials

•  Village health workers saw that provision of safe birth kits was hugely effective

Objective 4: support to health facilities

What will this objective accomplish? •  Improved service delivery at health facilities

•  More healthy babies born because of safe birth kit distribution

How will we accomplish this objective?

•  Provide safe birth kits for HIV positive mothers