OCTOBER 2004 — To expand access to HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment for the people of Oshikuku and others in the Omusati area in northern Namibia, the Oshikuku Integrated Services Center was inaugurated on Sept. 22, 2004, with support from the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.
The Center, operated by Catholic Health Services, is part of St. Martin's Catholic Hospital, which serves a catchment area of 96,000 people. The Center offers three key services:
- Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for self-referred clients as well as hospital patients referred by the hospital, including pre- and post-test counseling, testing and further referral. The Center's VCT services are part of the "New Start" VCT network, with technical assistance provided by the Social Marketing Association.
- Prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) program to motivate pregnant women to learn their serostatus through VCT and, for those who test positive, to provide pregnancy monitoring, antiretroviral medication and infant feeding counseling. About 960 women use the hospital's antenatal care services annually, among whom HIV prevalence is about 27 percent. Before the program began, more than 100 infants were born with HIV infection at the hospital every year, a figure that the new services can now reduce by half. The Implementing AIDS Care and Prevention (IMPACT) Project, managed by Family Health International, provides technical assistance for this program.
- Antiretroviral (ARV) therapy for patients who meet Ministry of Health and Social Services treatment guidelines, from trained health providers and counselors. Oshikuku Hospital admits more than 900 patients each year for advanced HIV disease and a similar number of TB patients, most of whom are also infected with HIV.
Honorable Deputy Minister of Health and Social Services Richard Kamwi officially opened the Center on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Namibia. USAID/Namibia Director Gary Newton addressed the gathering, praising the commitment of Namibia's leaders to fighting the epidemic, as did Dr. Fred van de Veen of FHI. Dr. Elizabeth Onjoro-Meassick, bilateral program coordinator in the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator in Washington, also attended the event. The Nuuyoma AIDS Awareness Youth Group performed a play for the guests on alcohol abuse and HIV infection.
USAID Mission Director Gary Newton Addresses Launch Gathering
Photo: USAID/Namibia Mission Director Gary Newton, Principal Medical Officer Dr. Samuel Awe of St. Martin's Catholic Hospital in Oshikuku and Bilateral Program Coordinator Dr. Elizabeth Onjoro-Meassick of the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator at the launch. (FHI) View a larger image.
