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Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation Secure the Future
Technical Assistance Programme
(BMSF STF TAP)
NAME OF ORGANISATION:
Better Future for Orphans (AMOCongo) / BACKGROUND
BMSF STF TAP’s stellar work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is testimony to the success that can result from private public partnerships (PPP) in the national response to HIV/AIDS.
BMSF STF entered the DRC in 2009 to work with “Better Future for Orphans” (Amocongo), a network of Congolese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which operates in eight provinces in the country. Three years later, a lasting impact has been made in HIV/AIDS mitigation in the country and new replication partners have stepped into the picture.
REGIONAL FOCUS:
Kigoma,Hewa bora, Carrefour Texaco, Industriel and Gambela, in Lubumbashi, Democratic
Republic of the Congo (DRC).
SCOPE OF PARTNERSHIP:
Project Management, strengthening capacity of
partners and Monitoring and Evaluation / INITIAL PARTNERSHIP
The first venture could not have been more relevant and vast in geographical reach to make BMSF TAP efforts more worthwhile. The partners had identified Kigoma,Hewa bora, Carrefour Texaco, Industriel and Gambela as the first areas of focus. The common thread among these communities is the high rate of commercial sex coupled with poverty resulting in young girls and women indulging in commercial sex to local and foreign truckers for a minimal fee with hardly a condom featuring in the dalliances.
AmoCongo identified these communities as hotspots for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the DRC. The aim was to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS and its impact with interventions that include community mobilisation, dissemination of material on Information, Education and Communication (IEC), voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) with particular focus on youth, treatment for PLWHA, medical care for children and adults, and PMTCT.
BMSF TAP assistance was geared towards strengthening partnercapacity, providing project management training for the leaders and empowering stakeholders with Monitoring and Evaluation skills.
The project is reaping phenomenal results: the communities’ attitudes and knowledge of HIV/AIDS is greatly improved. The focus is spreading beyond Lubumbashi with other areas already being impacted by the programmes. About 68 000 Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) are conducted annually. Thus far, 22 VCT campaigns have been held. The 350 full-time staff members, among them 33 doctors, not counting interns, work diligently in the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS among infants and adults. Several support groups have been established for adherence to ARV treatment.
OBJECTIVES:
To help reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS and its
Impact on youth.
VALUE OF ASSISTANCE
US$ 99,116.00 / EXTENDED PARTNERSHIP
The initial collaboration was followed by a second, which focuses mainly on psychosocial support. The programme’s thrust is on conducting home visits and providing the needy, people infected and affected with HIV/AIDS with food packs and training on Income-generating Activities (IGAs), covering the costs of tuition for children attendingschool, providing decent housing and paying the funeral expenses of infected clients who had succumbed to AIDS.
PARTNERSHIP DURATION:
THE RESULTS
• More than 5717 beneficiaries receive ARV treatment in nine (9) CTA integrated and non- integrated throughout the DRC;
• VCT was conducted among 67,540 tests in 11 VCT campaigns
• Viable IGAs....write in full were provided for more than 300 families
• 1,500 volunteers and peer educators were trained and enrolled for outreaches and community-based programmes to visit PLWHA
• Seven listening and psychosocial support centres were established
• AMOCongo supports more or less15, 000 children HIV / AIDS orphans (more or less1960 families) in eight (8) provinces.
  • 15,000 orphans were placed with 1,960 families nationally
  • 2,600 PLWHA enrolled onto the Amocongo assistance programmes in Katanga
  • 5,682 beneficiaries enrolled onto the Katanga programme
  • 17,199 home visits were performed by staff and volunteers
LESSONS LEARNED
  • Involvement of relevant provincial authorities in the fight against AIDS is necessary for programme success.
  • Synergistic planning of activities is crucial for programme efficiency and impact.
  • The management of sexually transmitted infections and Tuberculosis should be integrated