The Society for Family Health (SFH), funded by VIIV Healthcare, has integrated HIV-positive children from 36 vulnerable households into the Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLA) to boost their treatment.
The Paediatric and Adolescent Programme Director of SFH, Mrs. Aisha Dadi disclosed this on Monday in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, shortly after rounding up a one week training and empowerment exercise.
Dadi said that the programme was in collaboration with the Rivers State Ministry of Health, Elizabeth Glasser Paediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF), Paediatric Adolescent Treatment Africa (PATA) and UNICEF.
She further noted that the exercise which was conducted in two clusters (Obio/Akpor and Eleme Local Government Councils) was aimed at improving the financial capabilities of vulnerable families whose children had recorded slow response to HIV treatments.
“By our findings, a lot of the caregivers, as a result of distance from hospitals, were faced with difficulties of drug refills.”
She added that others complained of economic hardships and lack of proper nutrition while on the free HIV anti-retroviral drugs.
Dadi explained that the savings/loans association was expected to integrate caregivers into micro-investment units.
She added that the programme had also trained and empowered them with household economic benefits that would support them effectively to cater for children living with the virus.
“The essence is to ensure that caregivers effectively manage and sustain HIV care and promote commendable viral suppression moving forward.”
The Programme Manager, Rivers State Agency for the Control of AIDS (RIVSACA) Dr. Francis Naaziga, commended the SFH for the initiative, describing it as a positive component of the Paediatric Breakthrough Partnership (PBP) Project.
He added that beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were selected based on the health status of their children.
”Most of the children have unsuppressed viral load while others experience missed appointment in drug pick-ups at the various facilities where they are being managed,” he stated.
HIV-Positive Children’s Families Join Programme To Sustain Treatment is first published on The Whistler Newspaper