Taking on HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia: One Woman’s Story of Treatment and Self-Empowerment
July 18, 2006
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While the promotional tones of this description of the Christian Children’s Fund (CCF) antiretroviral therapy adherence program in Addis Ababa are overt and there is no scientific study of the results, the information about the program itself is impressive and aspects of the program may be useful in other settings.
The focus of the program is revealed in this quote from Dr. Meherete-Selassie Menbere, who oversees the program:
Giving substance to the concept of neighbors helping neighbors, program volunteers visit the homes of those with HIV and AIDS to assure that medications are taken correctly, assist with household chores, wash and massage the patients, dress any wounds, prepare meals for the patients and families, and, in general, do whatever needs to be done to help the family carry on.
Volunteers, who receive specific psychosocial and clinical training, also carry out HIV/AIDS awareness programs in the community.
Commentary
The compassion and courage of the volunteers is admirable. Moreover, intuition supports the notion that individuals with HIV and AIDS might respond with enhanced treatment adherence to the support from their peers who demonstrate empathy with the patient’s condition, provide clinical information and services, and supply realistic, concrete assistance to help the patient and the patient’s family survive.
Yet, intuition and hopefulness are insufficient substitutes to scientific assessment. While charitable institutions are often pressed by their humanitarian mission to expend their resources on direct services rather than divert funding for research, a well constructed study of this appealing but labor-intensive methodology could have a profound long-term effect on the course of disease management, especially in areas such as Ethiopia.