Home-based care for orphaned children infected with HIV/AIDS in Uganda

Abstract

The primary aim of this paper is to describe an outreach programme from a main state hospital in sub-Saharan Africa, which has been running for three years. This programme is based in Mulago Hospital, Kampala, Uganda and cares for up to 200 children infected with HIV/AIDS in their home. We describe the clinic and how we meet the families and enrol them, the infrastructure of the programme and the personnel involved. Children and their families receive physical, psychological and social care and we describe each aspect of this. The knowledge base about older children with AIDS in Africa is scarce and the secondary aim of this paper is to publish observations that were made while providing care. This includes demographics and the health problems encountered among children living with HIV/AIDS in a resource-poor setting who do not receive antiretroviral medication. Finally, we discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this model of care and the prerequisites to setting up a similar model.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank driver John Yiga for his invaluable dedication to the programme; the Department of Paediatrics, Makereere University, Kampala for their full support of the project; Dr Philippa Musoke, Department of Paediatrics for review of guidelines and support; the Dorothea Ross Foundation and the Elton John Foundation for supporting this project for two years, from September 2002; Ireland Aid, Embassy of Ireland, Kampala for supporting the Income-Generating Scheme for the families enrolled in the programme; the World Food Programme for providing food security for families enrolled in the programme; Mildmay International, Uganda for providing training and support for staff of the programme; Hospice Africa, Uganda for providing training for staff; and Microcare, Kampala for assistance with databases.