In Uganda, These Four Women Improve HIV Services for Hundreds of Clients

By Irene Mirembe, Knowledge management manager, IntraHealth International Lucy, Grace, Florence, and Hellen are working together to improve HIV services in Eastern Uganda. Photo by Irene Mirembe for IntraHealth International.April 05, 2021The Kotido Health Center IV HIV clinic in Eastern Uganda is run by a vibrant team of four wonder women. Led by the antiretroviral therapy (ART) clinic“in charge” and mentor Hellen, the quartet of health workers delivers high-quality HIV services for 357 clients—that’s 67% of the entire HIV client base in their district.Viral load suppression—a key HIV treatment goal, wherein medication reduces the amount of HIV in a person ' s body to an undetectable level—among clients in the Eastern region has remained at 70%, below the national target of 95%. At the Kotido Health Center IV, the viral load suppression rate is better than the regional average at 77.5% and the average yearly client retention is 93.3%, thanks to Hellen, her team, and support from IntraHealth International’s USAID-fundedRegional Health Integration to Enhance Services in Eastern Uganda (RHITES-E) Project.In Eastern Uganda, among adults ages 15 to 64, the prevalence of HIV is estimated at 5.1%. So RHITES-E implements HIV services in 15 districts in the eastern region and five in the Karamoja Region of Uganda, an area that has a total estimated population of 6.9 million. RHITES-E supports HIV care and treatment services wi...
Source: IntraHealth International - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: HIV & AIDS COVID-19 Maternal, Newborn, Child Health 2021 Year of the Health and Care Worker Health Workers Source Type: news