AIDS awareness campaign

AIMS

Education and counsel children (and carers) to discover their HIV status, provide HIV/AIDS clinics and outreach services.

This project aims to confront the problem of the social stigma of aids – so enabling children to obtain their HIV status and receive treatment for HIV and AIDS without fear or prejudice.

WHY

50% of the ugandan population is under 14 years of age.

• Every child is in the catchment area of wellspring medical centre is affected by AIDS.
• A large but unknown number are themselves HIV+ve
• Creating high child and young person morbidity and mortality rates due to AIDS
• causing a lack of local young work force resulting in poverty
• HIV status is often unknown due inadequate access to health care facilities and continuing social stigmas regarding AIDS.

BENEFITS will include

• children growing up confident in the HIV status, whether -ve or +ve,
• Knowing that iv -ve they can be assured of a healthy future providing they learn how to avoid the disease in the future;
• those who are +ve will learn to dismiss local myths regarding HIV and receive necessary treatment to enable them to live fulfilled, respected and creative lives.
• reducing the number of child deaths due to HIV infection and the affects of AIDS
• enabling more children to be successfully educated
• increasing the local young person work force in the villages

HOW

• Initiating a “Know your Status” campaign in schools and villages, aiming to provide facts about HIV and AIDS and to dispel myths, superstitions and prejudices regarding HIV and AIDS
• Providing health and sex education in the schools and villages,
• Encouraging the use of wellspring as a local accessible, affordable clinic where confidential HIV testing and counselling can take place and any necessary treatment, follow up and support be provided. (treatment initially will be undertaken by local AIDS agencies)
• Sending nurses into the more remote villages to offer HIV/AIDS counselling, support, testing, referral and monitoring of treatment, along with social nutritional support.

it is proposed that an AIDS awareness campaign called “Know your Status be initiated at wellspring, tower and bexhill schools, and the surrounding villages. this project one funded, will provide widespread education on HIV and AIDS together with counselling, testing of HIV, referral to local AIDS agencies and follow up. Applications for have been submitted to enable the funding for such a campaign. It is estimated the £30,000 will be required to fund the setting up of the “know your status” campaign.