WASHINGTON, DC (15 May 2003) — Professionals from the frontlines of the AIDS pandemic shared techniques to successfully meet the needs of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) at a symposium here on Tuesday.
Studies show that resource-poor communities can launch and improve care and support programs by using innovating strategies and relatively modest donor support. The speakers, including a Catholic nun from Zambia and two Indian physicians, described effective programs in place today. The Population Council's Horizons program, which sponsored the symposium, is funded by the US Agency for International Development to conduct HIV/AIDS operations research.
Key "how-tos" that make a difference in the lives of PLHA include:
- Training youth to help care for PLHA in their homes.
Sister Petronella Bwuepe and Council researcher Eka Esu-Williams discussed training youth in rural communities in Zambia to help families affected by AIDS provide nursing and psychological support to PLHA. The experience gives young people a way to help communities and learn more about PLHA. These relationships lead to less stigmatization throughout the communities and also encourage youth to avoid risky behavior.
- Providing affordable, confidential, and comprehensive services in a supportive environment.
Dr. Tokugu Yepthomi, an HIV-positive clinician and beneficiary of YRG CARE, a non-governmental clinic in South India, described his first visit to the clinic as "seeing light at the end of the tunnel." He highlighted the value of nonjudgmental staff and comprehensive care, including psychological and nutritional counseling, as helping him live positively with the disease. Dr. Toku also presented findings from a Horizons study that corroborated his personal experience. The quality of life of more than a hundred patients improved over an 18-month period, even for those in an advanced stage of the disease and even for those not on anti-retroviral therapy.
Dr. Suniti Solomon, the director of YRG CARE, noted that patients in the study reported a decrease in the number of illness episodes, the number of workdays lost, and in health-related expenditures since coming to YRG CARE.
- Involving health care workers in decisions about how to make hospitals more welcoming of PLHA.
Stigma and discrimination in the Indian health care system forces PLHA to endure medical care delays or denial, and segregation or isolation in hospitals. The Population Council's Vaishali Sharma Mahendra shared research aimed at identifying causes and manifestations of stigma and discrimination in three New Delhi hospitals. The research team shared the findings with all levels of staff, which catalyzed them to develop action plans to improve the situation and to use a simple checklist to monitor progress towards the achievement of a "PLHA-friendly" hospital.
Horizons Program Director Andy Fisher concluded: "It takes a lot of will, not necessarily a lot of money, to improve care and support services. Much can be accomplished through local efforts. We need to continue sharing information about successes so service providers can implement successful programs."
Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in collaboration with the International Center for Research on Women, the International HIV/AIDS Alliance, Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, Tulane University, Johns Hopkins University, and Family Health International.
The Population Council is an international, nonprofit, nongovernmental research organization that seeks to improve the well-being and reproductive health of current and future generations around the world and to help achieve a humane, equitable, and sustainable balance between people and resources. The Council conducts biomedical, social science, and public health research and helps build research capacities in developing countries. Established in 1952, the Council is governed by an international board of trustees. Its New York headquarters supports a global network of regional and country offices. ### Media contacts
Melissa May, APR: mmay@popcouncil.org +1 212 339 0525
Diane Rubino: drubino@popcouncil.org +1 212 339 0617 |
This page updated
19 October 2007
