30th November, 2009
Support AMREF and the Fight Against AIDS in 2010
According to a recent report by UNAIDS and the World Health Organisation, the global AIDS pandemic is now in decline. Infection rates in many parts of Africa are lower today than they were a decade ago. This is great news.
But the pandemic is far from over. The fact is, there are more people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa today than ever before. Many people still do not have access to antiretroviral medicines (ARVs), and those who do face new challenges as they live longer with the virus.
Vigilance is needed. New ways of treating, managing, and preventing the disease are needed.
AMREF continues to fight HIV/AIDS across Africa with programmes such as our integrated disease management programmes in central Uganda and South Africa. TB and malaria can be deadly to people with compromised immune systems. AMREF is tackling all three diseases in tandem, making sure people who are HIV-positive can protect themselves from TB and malaria infection, and that those who do fall ill receive holistic care and treatment.
Your donation of as little as £10 will help support our lifesaving HIV/AIDS programmes in Africa. Call 0207 269 5529 today!
“People believed that TB was fatal and you would die very quickly,” says Ester Nakamya, an AMREF-trained health worker attached to the programme. “Now, people seek treatment more often. I was touched to hear one of my patients tell me that ‘Tetukyali babisi ku ndwadde zi namutta ng’edda,’ meaning, we are no longer ignorant about the killer diseases like before.”
Across Africa we’re training community health workers to educate their own communities about HIV/AIDS.
“We are like one big family,” says George Olali, an HIV counsellor and peer educator based in Nairobi, Kenya. HIV-positive himself, George credits AMREF’s community-based approach for his and his clients’ good health.
“We are seeing many more people taking ARV medicines and making sure they take the medicines properly and do not miss doses. This is because we engage family members and close friends of our clients to provide support."
Photo: Louise Orton/AMREF