ABOUT the program
Bidibidi refugee settlement is located in Yumbe District in West Nile and is a home of over 270,000 South Sudanese refugees who fled their country due to the ongoing political instability.Facts….
There were 1,460,000 people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Uganda as of December 2019.
According to the Ministry of Health estimates 2019, the HIV prevalence among the adults (15-49 years) is 5.6%. The prevalence is higher among females (6.9%) as compared to the males (5.3%).
Annual AIDS related deaths reduced to 21,000 as of December 2019 from 53,000 in 2010.
Early infant diagnosis has increased from 40% in 2015 to 56% in 2019. Final vertical transmission rate was 5.9% and this averted about 17,000 new HIV infection.
Mother-to-Child transmission of HIV accounts for up to 18% of all new HIV infections in Uganda and is the primary cause of HIV among children.
By 2018, the estimated new pediatric HIV infection case rate was 466 per 1,000 live birth far above the elimination target of <50 new infections per 1,000 live births. and most of the infections occurred during breastfeeding.
Our philosophy: We believe in collaborations and partnerships with all stakeholders to ensure delivery of quality health services to the persons of concern. We are therefore available and willing to work with all partners who would wish to offer services to the refugees and host communities in Yumbe district.
Moonlight testing.
This specifically targets the long distance truck drivers, Commercial Sex Workers, migrant workers within the settlement and the host community. This is done by taking the service to their place of convenience usually at night. This is intended to enable them access the HIV testing services and all other services like condom education and distribution. It is important to note that whoever tests positive is encouraged to start the lifelong treatment and care.
A lab personnel, counselor and VHT during a community follow up.
For the case of TB, we conduct TB screening at the facility for all coughers, and do contact tracing in the community by visiting homes of our clients in care to collect sputum samples to ensure that TB is not transmitted to other family members and the community. Those who are found with TB are also enrolled on treatment.
Lab Personnel packing sputum samples.
Lab Personnel packing sputum samples collected during contact tracing in village 05, zone 1 Bidibidi refugee settlement.
Assisted Partner Notification. This is a service offered to persons infected with HIV and their sexual partners where the HIV positive index clients are interviewed to elicit information about their sexual partners who are in turn confidentially notified of their possible exposure and are offered HIV testing services. We offer this service because it tends to yield a much higher positivity rate.
Sexual Networking. This is basically following up of community assumed positive cases to ensure that they are counseled and offered HIV testing services.
Elimination of mother to Child Transmission of HIV. Since mother-to-child transmission accounts for up to 18% of all new infections in Uganda and is the primary source of infection among children, our priority is to ensure that; this trend is reversed. This is done by ensuring that all pregnant women and adolescent girls together with their spouses are offered HIV testing services, encouraged to attend all the antenatal visits and be educated about the dangers of HIV in pregnancy and SGBV. Those mothers who are HIV positive are enrolled on care and treatment and intensive adherence counseling offered. We ensure that these mothers are well monitored during pregnancy, birth, postpartum, breastfeeding so that the infants are not infected. We follow the eMTCT continuum to ensure that the infant receives all the EID services.
Discordant couple testing. We offer routine counseling and testing to known discordant couples and continue educating them about the importance of prevention by proper use of condoms and supporting each otherto seeking for health services in time.
Youth friendly services..
We have a deliberate strategy of engaging the youths in all our services because we are aware of the demographic structure of Uganda and that of the refugees in Yumbe. The youths are highly vulnerable if not well monitored and engaged due to their life style and the economic hardships and challenges which tempt them to engage in risky behaviors that expose them to HIV infection. We therefore follow the youths in their established youth friendly spaces to offer them health education in regard to HIV prevention, encourage them to test for HIV and teach them on proper condom use and disposal.
Edutainment.
We have made sure that our services are friendly, entertaining but yet so educative. That is why we have established and supported a vibrant drama group which helps us during community outreaches and even at health facilities to pass on information to the community members.