The Society for Family Health (SFH), funded by VIIV Healthcare, has integrated HIV-positive children of 36 vulnerable households into Village Saving and Loans Associations (VSLA) to boost care retention.
A Paediatric and Adolescent Program Director of SFH, Mrs Aisha Dadi remarked on Monday in Eleme, shortly after rounding up a one-week training and empowerment exercise in Rivers.
She 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.
According to her, 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 said.
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 saving/loans association was expected to integrate caregivers into micro-investment units.
She said 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,” she said.
The Programme Manager, of 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.
According to him, beneficiaries of the empowerment programme were selected based on 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 said.
An orphanage home operator and a foster parent of one of the children, Mr Henry Echonwo spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, commending the SFH for the support.
He promised that they would make judicious use of the funds to improve care for affected children.
NAN
