Training Doctors to Care for HIV-Positive Children

Gertrude's Garden Children's Hospital (GGCH) held a pediatric AIDS training course for Kenyan pediatricians on Jan. 31 - Feb. 4, 2005. More than 30 pediatricians and physicians from all parts of Kenya enrolled in this intensive short-course. The training was supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the IMPACT Project managed by Family Health International (FHI) and co-sponsored by the National AIDS and STD Control Program (NASCOP) and the Kenyan Pediatric Association.

GGCH has been selected as one of the few institutions in Kenya that will serve as a center of excellence in pediatric AIDS and provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART) to children. Last year, GGCH spearheaded the development of a national curriculum for pediatric AIDS care in collaboration with NASCOP. One of its staff members has recently attended a specialized course on ART at the New York University School of Medicine's Centre for AIDS Research (CFAR). The NYU CFAR runs one of the strongest pediatric AIDS programs in the United States.

After more staff from GGCH are trained in pediatric AIDS and the program is fully established at the hospital, it will serve as a mentoring site for pediatricians to learn how to provide life-saving treatment to the increasing number of children who are born HIV positive.

Photo: Pediatricians and trainers from Kenya's first pediatric AIDS training course pose for a quick photo. (FHI) View a larger image.