The Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference's AIDS Office, the primary recipient of funds, serves as a conduit of funding for small parish- and diocesan-based projects that provide care and support services to people living with HIV and AIDS and for most vulnerable children (MVC) in Botswana, South Africa and Swaziland. The SACBC AIDS Office supports and provides technical and financial resources to small projects. Projects operating at diocesan and parish levels provide a wide variety of services: home-based care for people who are sick and their families; health and educational support for most vulnerable children; advocacy for access to child care grants; palliative care and access to treatment.
This strategy is seen as a feasible way of ensuring funding support reaches local communities who are not able to comply with the more complex requirements of major donors.
AIDSRelief, a five-member consortium funded through the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), supported rapid scale-up of HIV care and treatment services for poor and underserved people in ten countries across Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. AIDSRelief consortium partners included Catholic Relief Services, the University of Maryland School of Medicine Institute of Human Virology , Futures Group, IMA World Health and Catholic Medical Mission Board, as well as Children's AIDS Fund, operating sites in three countries.
CRS secured PEPFAR funding through AIDSRelief in 2004 and partnered with the SACBC AIDS Office on the AIDSRelief South Africa program to support treatment of AIDS patients in South Africa.
Working hand-in-hand with local experts, the AIDSRelief team provided technical assistance, support and improved infrastructure and equipment to a total of 25 clinics and linked dozens of satellite health facilities across the country. Treatment facilities were expanded and equipped. Financial systems were strengthened and health facilities were prepared to implement a new, locally-developed electronic patient data system to assist with patient management and monitor clinical outcomes. Hundreds of health workers were trained, and links were established with local clinical experts as well as with health institutions and organizations. Relationships with government health and social services agencies were strengthened.
In South Africa, AIDSRelief operated alongside dozens of other implementers offering HIV-related services, including government clinics. To minimize duplication and leverage each project's focus, AIDSRelief provided patients with formal referrals and less formal links to complementary services that support HIV counseling, testing and prevention, including the following:
Tuberculosis and HIV
In addition to its generalized HIV epidemic, South Africa bears a significant burden of tuberculosis. AIDSRelief sites screened all HIV patients for symptoms of TB and patients were referred to government clinics for treatment as needed. All health workers received training on TB infection control. Low cost, basic renovations were made to reduce transmission, such as outdoor waiting areas and improved ventilation.
Maternal-Child HIV Care
AIDSRelief's treatment sites were stand-alone HIV care and treatment centers. Most did not offer primary health care services and, therefore, referred HIV-positive women to maternal-child health centers located within full-service clinics.
From 2004 to 2010, AIDSRelief South Africa provided HIV care and treatment to more than 77,000 patients, including 37,000 who enrolled in lifesaving antiretroviral therapy (ART) at 25 clinics. A deep commitment to partnership underscored AIDSRelief's relationships and capacity strengthening activities, which culminated in late 2009 when AIDSRelief South Africa became the first PEPFAR program to transfer management responsibility to its local partners, the SACBC AIDS Office.
In the second phase of transition, many patients have been transferred to government clinics, while others are receiving antiretroviral medication provided by the Department of Health at Church sites. By the end of 2011, the SACBC/CRS program had started more than 40,000 patients on ART treatment. Former AIDSRelief facilities are also expanding services to include TB treatment and increased services for affected children.
HIV and AIDS Peer Education Project
The project, implemented by the Catholic Institute of Education (CIE), supports young people in their efforts to make positive decisions about their lives and reduce risky behavior through participation in an HIV peer education and leadership program.
The beneficiaries are students in grades 10 and 11 from 22 Catholic schools. Peer educators are trained to challenge the way peers think about issues that most affect their lives and to create awareness about choices and risky behavior. The aim is to make the learning experience fun and exploratory.
Most Vulnerable Children Support Project
The project focuses on capacity building of 4 sites within the Diocese of Tzaneen to provide access to holistic services to most vulnerable children and to enable continuity of service delivery. Caregivers will be trained to be able to provide quality services to the children. The services include: access to nutritious food, and basic hygiene education and hygiene products, educational and health support and repairs to children's homes.
The caregivers will attend training offered by the Departments of Social Development and Health in things like record keeping and reporting. The Department of Social Development will provide training to caregivers to assist most vulnerable children with applying for legal documents and social grants.
