The Back Home HIV Outreach Program

CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT

This program has a few components that work in tandem to "attack" HIV/AIDS within a specified region. We address treatment issues for HIV-positive patients as well as prevention of the spread of HIV to those who are not infected.

Treatment Programs

• Medication – HealthLink for Africa International Inc. receives donated HIV drugs and transports them to target areas for dispensation at the professional discretion of an African medical partner. A currently active African partner organization in this effort is the UpHealth Foundation in Limbe, Cameroon. UpHealth Foundation, a common initiative group made up of diverse health professionals, offers home care services, direct observed treatment, and counseling to HIV/AIDS patients in the Fako area.
• Patient to Patient Support – We work with African and U.S. doctors to link African HIV/AIDS patients to HIV-positive patients in the U.S. to establish a supportive correspondence. HealthLink for Africa contacts AIDS physicians and invites them to ask their patients if they would be interested in corresponding internationally with another AIDS patient. If desired, the providers are connected, and patient contact information is exchanged directly between the providers. We have been somewhat surprised at the high level of concern for African HIV patients among their American counterparts. We believe international connections at the personal level between these patients can be extremely therapeutic.

Preventive Programs

• Person to Person – This program is being developed for implementation on this web site. Africans living in the U.S. are invited to have a package sent on their behalf to a Loved One in Africa (Back Home). HealthLink for Africa International will then mail a packet of educational materials about HIV/AIDS to that Loved One, along with a card stating that this package comes from their particular Loved One in the U.S. because he/she cares about them. There will also be a letter of appeal in the package to talk more openly about HIV with other Loved Ones and especially youngsters back home, to get tested for HIV, and to share the information in the packet with others. The strength of this program is that it is such a simple intervention but with the power of a personal touch.
• University to University – This program solicits support from a university in the U.S. to sponsor an HIV outreach at a sister university in Africa. A collaborative relationship is established between the two universities whereby rewards for student involvement are integrated into the existing university setting. Implementation begins with the distribution of an HIV/AIDS package to each student at the university. The university student packet will include educational materials and cooperative activity materials designed to encourage discussion among students about HIV/AIDS. Then we arrange for further dissemination of the information through energetic university student volunteers who visit local high schools to present the facts to assemblies of high school students.
• Orphan Outreach – This program targets children in orphanages. Orphans are linked, either as a group or individually, to adult African mentors or role models living in the U.S. Correspondence includes education about HIV/AIDS, and encouragement of personal growth and healthy behavioral choices. The program also supplies the orphanages with soccer balls and books for the children. This program offers a caring personal connection from overseas to inspire a sense of hope in these orphaned children by widening their perspective on the potential that lies in their own future.

If you are interested in volunteering for any part of the Back Home HIV Outreach Program, please contact us at backhome@healthlinkafrica.org.