Critical Interventions: Families (December 2005)

	By addressing the full range of family needs, the U.S. Government is helping to ease the lives of families and communities impacted by HIV/AIDS… Families are the cornerstones of a strong society. Yet when parents or children become sick from HIV/AIDS, a family’s ability to cope with the economic, social and emotional impact of the disease can be severely diminished. Caring for children can impose serious hardship on extended families and communities, and many families are headed by children who have been orphaned. Under national strategies, in coordination with host governments, the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (Emergency Plan) focuses special attention on the prevention, treatment, and care needs of families impacted by HIV/AIDS. Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission, pediatric AIDS treatment, and home-based care and support programs all help to keep families intact. Efforts are directed not only at those who may be infected, but at the entire family. Parents caring for HIV-positive children, for example, are encouraged to be tested themselves. This opens the door to life-sustaining treatment for those who need it, helping to preserve families. The following stories are just a few examples of how the Emergency Plan is supporting national strategies and working with host nations to strengthen families’ and communities’ ability to respond to HIV/AIDS. South African Children Helped to Cope with AIDS Many families benefit from the efforts of the Siyawela program in South Africa. The Siyawela program in South Africa addresses the needs of children of HIV-positive parents, orphans and other vulnerable children. Children come to community health care facilities, where they receive care and support. Before his mother died, young Sipho and his mother joined a support group at the Jabavu Clinic in Soweto. The boy continues attending the group and is living in his grandmother’s house, shared with an aunt, uncle and 11 of his cousins. Sipho’s counselors and friends at Jabavu care about him. He feels free to talk and show his grief. The professional staff help him and his surviving family to benefit from healthy meals, clothing, and financial assistance from South Africa’s government. More than 6,000 children like Sipho receive this type of psychological and bereavement support across South Africa through community partnerships made possible by the Emergency Plan. Helping HIV–Positive Women in Ukraine Give Birth to Healthy Infants Irina Dmitrieva, from Ukraine, was introduced to the shadowy world of drug use at age 12. She struggled to break free of her addiction well into adulthood, but never imagined she would be diagnosed HIV-positive, putting the health of her unborn child in jeopardy. A pregnant Dmitrieva was referred to Odessa Oblast Hospital three years ago, fearing that her baby would contract the virus as well. Irina met with obstetrician/gynecologist Svetlana Posokhova just three weeks before her delivery date. Dr. Posokhova provided Dmitrieva with addiction and HIV/AIDS counseling as well as doses of the drug Nevirapine for both mother and child before and after birth. Dr. Posokhova’s hospital is able to help women like Dmitrieva through a regional project to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, which receives support from the U.S. Government. Today Dmitrieva’s daughter, Sophia, is a happy, HIV-negative three-year-old, thanks to the compassion and skill of Dr. Posokhova and the Odessa Oblast Hospital. Supporting Families of HIV-Positive Children in India Kiran is the client of an Emergency Plan-supported community health program. Although her small size might be deceiving, Kiran is 11. She is one of an increasing number of children in India who are infected with HIV. With support from the Emergency Plan, Kiran is receiving assistance through a community health program. Kiran is proud to show visitors her new bicycle, donated to her by workers from the program. One year ago, during a home visit from community health workers, Kiran was found near death with a severe fever, and was rushed to the hospital. Community health workers now visit Kiran weekly and educate her family about antiretroviral medication, nutrition, and healthy living. With the help of the community-based care provided by the U.S. Government, Kiran is once again a happy, active 11-year-old. “Femme Active” Supports HIV-Positive Women in Côte d’Ivoire Semi-Lou Bertine is a young Muslim woman who discovered her HIV-positive status while receiving services to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission at the U.S. Government-supported Koumassi Clinic in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. In addition to being a loving partner to her husband and mother to her HIV-negative child, Semi-Lou is a member of an association called “Femme Active,” which offers peer psychosocial support for HIV-positive women and their families. Semi-Lou’s group has also been active in supporting HIV-positive women and their families in gaining access to antiretroviral medicines. Through Semi-Lou’s dynamism and leadership, “Femme Active” rapidly grew in size to more than 300 members and it is an active participant in the national network of organizations of persons living with HIV/AIDS.
President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is the largest commitment ever by any nation for an international health initiative dedicated to a single disease' a five-year, $15 billion, multifaceted approach to combating the disease around the world. U.S. Department of State U.S. Agency for International     Development U.S. Department of Defense U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Department of Labor U.S, Department of Health    and Human Services Peace Corps Mailing Address: SA-29, 2nd Floor 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20522-2920 www.pepfar.gov
“The importance of extending life even if you cannot cure… is being appreciated now by people who are taking advantage of the breakthroughs in treatment that are now possible. These are the words of Elisa, a 42-yearold widow living with HIV/AIDS in Rwanda. Elisa is being treated by antiretroviral services by the Biryogo Medical in Kigali with support from the Emergency Plan. ‘I am ready for every occurrence,’ she said. ‘As long as I can increase my life by a few or many years, because my three young children need me. Even the ones who are still married need me. I want to advise other people who have AIDS not to despair, but to be strong and have hope.’” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice September 28, 2005
President George W. Bush's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief is working in 15 of the nations most impacted by the HIV/AIDS pandemic and in other nations worldwide to keep the American people's commitment to support treatment for 2 million HIV-infected people, support prevention of 7 million new infections, and support care for 10 million HIV-infected individuals and AIDS orphans.