Red
Cross volunteers in southern Africa and in other parts of the
world have been implementing home-based care programmes for
many years, providing prevention, treatment and support to people
living with HIV and their families. So far however, trainers
had no comprehensive, easy-to-use training tool to equip community-based
volunteers with life-saving and life-enhancing knowledge and
skills. This is no longer true since the official launch of
a newly-developed training package on October 2 in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The kit can also be used by paid health workers.
The launch sets a good example of how joining forces with other
major humanitarian partners can benefit to communities. The
new package was developed jointly by the International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in southern Africa,
the World Health Organization and SAFAIDS (Southern Africa AIDS
Information Dissemination Service).
“This is a genuine package for use worldwide, which covers
comprehensive issues on treatment preparedness, anti-retroviral
therapy, adherence to treatment, positive living and nutrition.
It also looks at palliative care and caring for the carers themselves,”
explains Bernard Gardiner, manager of the Global HIV and AIDS
programme for the International Federation in Geneva.
Key players in the development of the training package were
senior trainers from Red Cross / Red Crescent societies, from
governments, national AIDS councils and people living with HIV.
Collaboration took place from the head offices to the community-level.
Though the training package was tested in southern Africa, it
can be used anywhere in the world with suitable adaptation to
local needs and cultures. It will be translated into several
languages, including French, Spanish and Portuguese.
Speaking on behalf of people living with HIV, Dorothy Odhiambo,
the International Federation’s regional HIV and AIDS partnership
officer based in Nairobi, warmly welcomed the creation of the
new tool, insisting however on the need to scale up access to
anti-retroviral treatment “which is still a mirage for
most of the 40 million people living with HIV in developing
countries”, she said.
Prof. Francis Onyango, the World Health Organization’s
acting country representative also stressed on the necessity
to build community skills through initiatives like the new training
package.
“It is only when communities are working in synergy with
health care providers that we can hope to achieve universal
access to HIV prevention, treatment, care and support”,
he said. Co-ordination meetings will be held to discuss the
adaptation of the training package, how to maximize resources
and reduce duplication among partners.
The official launch of the training initiative held in Harare
was also the occasion for the International Federation’s
new Special Representative for HIV and AIDS, Dr. Mukesh Kapila,
to send a strong message to communities affected by HIV in the
region. “Southern Africa deserves better than promises.
It is time to turn words into deeds,” he told the audience
at the Harare International Conference Centre, also highlighting
the disastrous statistics - with over 25 % of the adult population
infected with HIV - and the need to further fight stigma and
discrimination.
Dr. Kapila especially insisted on the plight of many women who
cannot always control their sexual life while they already have
a greater biological vulnerability to the virus. “Sexual
and gender-based violence and exploitation has become an epidemic
in its own right,” he said.
Dr. Kapila also mentioned the new 5 year-plan developed by the
southern Africa regional delegation to support national societies
in fighting HIV and AIDS. The plan focuses on prevention for
vulnerable groups through more education campaigns. It also
aims at strengthening home-based care programmes built up over
the last decade.
Already 50,000 people benefit from them, as well as 100,000
orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS.
“These numbers should more than double,” said Dr.
Kapila, also stressing that the Harare launch was “a key
element of a wider ambition”.
Other speakers at the official launch ceremony included Dr.
David Parirenyatwa, Zimbabwe’s minister of Health and
Child Welfare, Françoise Le Goff, Head of the International
Federation’s regional delegation based in Harare and Lois
Chingandu, executive director of SAFAIDS.
The major role played by Zimbabwe Red Cross in field testing
the toolkits, and as pioneers of home based care in the International
Federation, was acknowledged by the event being held in Zimbabwe
and by volunteers giving gifts to the speakers at the launch.
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“Southern
Africa deserves better than promises”, said Dr Mukesh
Kapila during the Harare launch. (p14734)
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Dorothy
Odhiambo receives a gift from a Zimbabwe Red Cross volunteer.
(p14735)
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Zimbabwe
Red Cross volunteers were the pioneers of home base care
programmes in southern Africa. (p14736)
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The
new training package is an easy-to-use training tool to
equip community-based volunteers with life-saving knowledge
and skills. (p14733).
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