Some Health Facilities mentored on Resilience in Pediatric HIV/AIDS Care
Striving towards ensuring that Cameroon meets up with the 95-95-95 targets set by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), the Equality Project team effected a 2-week coaching and mentoring visit to its partner facilities. The team had as objectives, to review the project’s implementation, understand the systems in place for the provision of Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services, review and guide peer supporters on their roles, ensure that the reporting tools are in place, and make certain that the service providers have the right source documents.
The facilities visited comprised Nkwen Baptist Hospital Bamenda, Akum Holy Family Hospital, Santa District Hospital, Regional Hospital Bamenda, Azire Integrated Health Center, St. Mary Soledad Hospital, and Nkwen District Hospital. They are all located in the Northwest Region.
An important aspect of the project is the integration of Sexual and Reproductive Health services for adolescent girls and boys, especially young mothers. Because of the socio-political crisis which began in 2016, data has shown an increase in the number of Sexually Transmitted Illnesses (STIs) among young people. Many young ladies living with HIV have shown up with pregnancies and STIs, so it is left to the imagination, what their knowledge of SRH is.
The project is particular about expanding and scaling up HIV and SRH services to these groups of persons. They work very hard to ensure that young people living with HIV attain the Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) state. One of the ways this can be successful is if these adolescents clearly understand their SRH rights and needs.
The highlight of the meetings was the peer supporters who had not only fully integrated themselves into the facilities but were producing very satisfactory results. Champions, as they are commonly called, have fought and won over stigma and discrimination and are willing to accompany other youths. They have spearheaded the organization of relevant support groups, communicated frequently with caregivers to make sure they are present for appointments, educated their peers on SRH, and carried out home visits to improve access to services for those in need.
“I don’t want any youth to feel left out that is why I take it upon myself to call each one and visit them when they cannot make it to us,” declared one of them.
“We have intensified SRH education in our facility and even plan to extend the training to the antenatal clinic (ANC) and other clinics where parents are mostly gathered. This is so because we have realized that they cannot be left out. SRH education will only succeed if we include them,” voiced Lilian, a service provider.
The mentoring activity that began on Tuesday, July 11, 2023, “was a complete success and we can’t wait to further this partnership with these facilities. We are very grateful that amidst their tedious workload, they have shown their passion and resilience by improving their services in SRH so that our adolescents and young people, especially those living with HIV, can live healthy lives,” chided Mme Anangkeng Justine, Assistant Project Coordinator. “We can’t wait to visit the other facilities located in the other divisions like Bui, Boyo, and Ngoketunjia,” she went on.
The mentoring team comprised the Assistant Project Coordinator, the M&E Officer, the Sexual and Reproductive Health Officer, and the Communication Officer.