Dear Colleagues:
(photos by James Pursey)
Several Locals have requested more information about specific work done by the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation. In 2012 CWA will focus our messages on highlighting the work the Foundation is supporting in a specific country. EGPAF supports programs in 13 African countries, as well as India and the United States. In this message, we will focus on highlighting the work EGPAF is doing in Malawi.
Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Malawi is among the world's least-developed countries. The economy is heavily based in agriculture with a largely rural population Malawi. They are making efforts to overcome decades of underdevelopment and the more recent impact of a growing HIV-AIDS problem.
Approximately 920,000 people are living with HIV in Malawi. Of those, 120,000 are children under the age of 15 (UNAIDS, Report on the Global AIDS Epidemic 2010). In 2001, the Foundation, in collaboration with local partners, initiated one of Malawi’s first programs to provide prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services. By 2006, the Foundation was supporting 54 percent of all PMTCT services available in country. Today, the Foundation’s Malawi program provides technical and capacity building assistance to 95 sites including Ministry of Health (MOH) and private health facilities.
As of December 31, 2011, Foundation-supported programs had:
- Tested more than 422,000 pregnant women for HIV.
- Provided more than 577,000 women with PMTCT services.
- Provided more than 35,000 HIV-positive pregnant women and more than 24,000 HIV-exposed infants with lifesaving antiretroviral drugs to prevent transmission of HIV from mother to child.
Today, we introduce you to one woman who found a new beginning in getting tested for HIV.
Teleza came to the antenatal clinic at Bwaila Hospital, a major maternity hospital in the capital city of Lilongwe, Malawi, when she was pregnant last year. She got tested for HIV for the first time there, and when the result came back positive, Teleza says she felt like she could finally take control of her health.
“I found out I was HIV-positive at my antenatal care visit. Believe it or not, I was relieved. I had been feeling ill for some time, and I was glad to know why and how to deal with it. I’ve since had counseling on how to live with HIV and about family planning and safe sex. My husband is supportive; I am one of the lucky ones. He even came to get tested himself.”
Read more of Teleza’s Story of Hope here.
If you have made a contribution to the EGPAF in 2012, thank you very much. If you have not, we hope you will in the very near future.
To find out even more about the partnership between CWA and the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, go to:
www.cwa-union.org/issues/entry/c/pediatric-aids.
In Unity,
Annie Hill
Secretary-Treasurer