FOCUS ON HIV SUPPORT GROUPS: THE PARENT’S FORUM
The parent’s forum is a platform that brings together parents or caregivers of children living with HIV. This is a support group that enables parents to be taught best practices, and share experiences, and success stories with one another. Organized in several hospitals like the Nkwen Baptist Hospital and Bamenda Regional Hospital amongst others, these caregivers gather together on a day convenient for them and activities are organized per the theme of the meeting. At the Nkwen Baptist Hospital, for example, these parents were taught about adherence and how beneficial it is to the health of the children. They were also given lectures on the negative consequences of stigma and discrimination on the well-being of the children.
Stigma and discrimination continue to hamper the fight for the elimination of new HIV infections in Cameroon. How is this so? For fear of stigma and discrimination, people living with HIV will either miss their hospital appointments or will not adhere to their medication. This challenge is worse in children as they depend on their caregivers to help them in this battle. But what happens when the caregiver does not want to be tagged? Finding ways to eliminate stigma while encouraging these people, especially the children, to faithfully adhere to their treatment, is one of the core purposes of the Children Momentum Project of the CBC Health Services. This is where the Parent’s forum comes in.
At the Bamenda Regional Hospital, the were lectures on sexual and reproductive health and hygiene, success stories, and drama presentations by the peer supporters. The Children Momentum Project aims at ensuring that these Parent Forums take place in all their partner facilities as it has proven to be a safe space for caregivers of children living with HIV.
In several facilities, the group meets at least once every trimester, while continuing their discussions using Whatsapp as a way to bring the caregivers closer and pass across important communiques. “This is one of our best strategies to improve the health and mental conditions of children living with disabilities because we put this activity at a time most convenient for the caregivers, who always show up massively. We always notice improvements in the children every time we hold a parents forum” expounded Mme Yawah Winifred, Coordinator for the Nkwen Baptist Hospital Treatment Center. This support group, the parent’s forum, will continue to hold till all children attain the undetected state, and forth because the parents also need psychosocial support, which this forum attempts to provide she added.