HIV Care for 5000 children/caregivers in Swaziland

In the Breast Cancer Awareness Month of October, Kudvumisa Foundation facilitated a cervical and breast cancer screening for the women living in the northern Lubombo region of Swaziland. In partnership with teh Swaziland Breast and Cervical Cancer Network and local government nursing managers and nurses we were able to reach 110 women in two day of outreach. The clinic area was set up in the soon to be CHIPS clinic building in the Maphiveni community. Three gazebo's were erected as patient rooms and fill with all the equipment needed for the event all the way from beds to lamps to desks. By performing a simple breast exam and a cost effective cervical cancer screening called VIA (Visual Inspection with Acidic Acid, a procedure using table vinegar to potentially identify early stages of cervical cancer) we were able to identify 10 women with potentially life threatening cancer and have already linked them to follow up care at the closest government hospital.
The first day of outreach was focused on our community women of Maphiveni where 39 women arrived to us on foot. All women seen were healthy! The second day of outreach we provided shuttle transport to nine different communities and had two companies send their coworkers to receive our services. It was 105 degF (40 C) that day but 71 women still came, grateful to be cared for! The Kudvumisa staff and the volunteering government nurses worked diligently through the day loving on all these women. Kudvumisa is committed to continue to seek out ways to serve the communities around us, bringing Life to the isolated, marginalized and impoverished. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

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Accessing medical care here in Shewula can be a challenge. Isolated by distance, mountains, poverty and poor roads can mean there is little opportunity to go to a clinic. Last week Kudvumisa Foundation brought a team of doctors, nurses and a dentist to this remote area. Several thousand were seen by the medical staff. Many who came with abscesses and diseased teeth had never seen a dentist before in their life.

HIV

Swaziland still has the highest per capita prevalence rate of HIV in the world. Hundreds tested for the first time. Twelve tested positive and were immediately offered access to the drugs, which would save their lives and reduce the number of new infections.

A twelve-year-old girl in one of the nearby high schools came to the weeklong outreach and tested for HIV with the Kudvumisa staff. She tested positive. Kudvumisa nurses and counselors worked with the young girl to help her through the process of beginning on ARVs and also to see if there was anyone at her homestead she could confide in. While a 12 year old can test without parental consent, it would be difficult for a 12 year old to be responsible to take the drugs as required without help at home.

The young girl agreed and brought the nurse and counselors to her homestead. Meeting with the girl’s mother, the nurse found that everyone at the homestead was already on ARVs! So with support available at home, the girl could start on ARVs immediately.

The drugs will ensure she will not advance to AIDS and will not pass the virus to someone else; she will be able to grow as a normal teen ager here and hopefully mature and grow and fulfill her dreams.

Links:

• Visit our web site!