TAFU programme is building the capacity of community structures
Last updated on: 06 March 2024
One achievement that I’m most proud of from the TAFU program is building the capacity of community structures. This is very critical, because the community structures especially the expert clients, are very supportive of the peers. Says Joselyne Mwabadde of the National Forum of People living with HIV and AIDS in Uganda (NAFOPHANU), one of the valuable implementing partners in the Towards an AIDS free Generation in Uganda (TAFU) programme in the past eight years. She reflects on the crucial role of community structures in ensuring children living with HIV have access to the care they need. Watch her interview!
“NAFOPHANU has been implementing TAFU that is the towards an AIDS free generation in Uganda program for the last eight years. We have been working through the PLHIV networks, that is, the expert clients. These structures have been instrumental in supporting the identification, the referral and follow up of lost clients, especially the children and pregnant women. One achievement that I’m most proud of from the TAFU program is building the capacity of community structures. This is very critical, because the community structures especially the expert clients, are very supportive of the peers. This is because they are living in the communities where the children living with HIV also live. And this has helped the TAFU program to realize its goal of increasing enrollment of children living with HIV into care, simply because the expert clients have been able to educate the community about what paediatric HIV is.”
About the TAFU programme
The Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda programme was Aidsfonds’ first paediatric HIV community intervention programme co-created with Ugandan community-based partner organisations. The program trained community resource persons and village health teams to identify children living with HIV, refer them to health facilities and follow up on them after they are enrolled in HIV care. Based on the successes and learnings of TAFU in Uganda, Aidsfonds scaled paediatric HIV programming to four other countries between 2018-2021: Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mozambique and Nigeria. These five programmes, co-developed with partner organisations form the basis for the Aidsfonds Kids to Care model for community-based paediatric HIV programming.
The Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda (TAFU) programme was Aidsfonds’ first paediatric HIV community intervention programme. The programme trained up community health workers to identify HIV positive children, and link individuals to care and ongoing support. The programme was co-created through community leadership and engagement with key stakeholders, building on community knowledge of the needs of children living with HIV. Towards an AIDS Free Generation in Uganda changed the way that community-based paediatric HIV services were delivered.
Sidaction and Aidsfonds are pleased to jointly launch a call for scientific proposals for the year 2026, aimed at accelerating advances in HIV cure research.
The aim of this call for proposals is to fund research projects exploring mechanisms or strategies that will contribute to achieving a cure or remission for HIV. Projects may investigate mechanisms to target the viral reservoir or enhance immune-driven control, the development of new therapeutic concepts, as well as research in the social sciences related to HIV cure or remission.
Through this call, we aim to support research that will ultimately lead to major biomedical breakthroughs, foster social acceptance of cure interventions, and promote an HIV cure accessible to the largest possible number of people living with HIV worldwide.
From Barrier to Bridge – How a Network is Building Bonds Between Police and Communities
From Barrier to Bridge – How a Network is Building Bonds Between Police and Communities
For the longest time, the absence of law enforcement at the table has been a critical missing piece in the jigsaw of HIV prevention and public health interventions. Whether through prejudice, lack of access to services, stigma and discrimination, public health outcomes are greatly affected by criminalisation. The lives of LGBTIQ+ people, sex workers and people who use drugs are disrupted daily through state sanctioned violence and criminalisation enacted by law enforcement. Recognising this gap, Aidsfonds, in close collaboration with its partners stepped in, bringing together communities, health service providers and law enforcement. Munya has been at the heart of this work, helping translate that collaboration into tangible change.
