Websites
Action for Orphans - www.orphans.fxb.org. Association François-Xavier Bagnoud is involved in more than 21 humanitarian action projects in 17 countries and has made children affected and orphaned by AIDS its special focus. The Action for Orphans website contains reports on projects in Africa, a 28-page report on children orphaned by AIDS, stories from the field, a video clip of a 12-year-old's crusade to end the discrimination endured by HIV/AIDS sufferers, and more.
Centers for Disease Control, Global AIDS Program (GAP) - www.cdc.gov/nchstp/od/gap/strategies/4_3_palliative_care.htm. The Global AIDS Program exists to help prevent HIV infection, improve care and support, and build capacity to address the global HIV/AIDS pandemic. GAP provides financial and technical assistance through partnerships with communities, governments, and national and international entities working in resource-constrained countries. Read about GAP's Palliative Care Technical Strategy at the url listed above.
Enhancing Care Initiative (ECI) - www.eci.harvard.edu. The Enhancing Care Initiative is a multidisciplinary, multinational program that aims to enhance the care of people living with HIV/AIDS in resource-scarce countries. It is based on the beliefs that concrete, practical improvements in care for people with HIV can and must be developed, and that these improvements will be most effective when developed and implemented by local experts who understand the challenges and possibilities intrinsic to their regions. The heart of ECI lies in its AIDS Care Teams that are formed by, composed of, and led by people from the countries involved. ECI is coordinated by the Harvard AIDS Institute in collaboration with the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights.
Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA) - www.fhssa.org. Started in 1999 as a nonprofit foundation, FHSSA has a national board and a growing network of partnered entities seeking to develop resources for African providers. FHSSA actively supports hospices or similar groups in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania and has established relationships with other providers in Namibia, Malawi, Zambia, Swaziland, Kenya, and Uganda. The FHSSA homepage will soon be replaced with a full website. To subscribe to a periodic e-newsletter on African hospice work, please send a request to newsletter@fhssa.org; include "subscribe" in the subject line and your e-mail address in the body.
Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance (GAIA) - www.thegaia.org. The Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance was founded in June 2000 to stop the transmission of the HIV virus from mothers to infants in Sub-Saharan Africa. It focuses on infrastructure development and training of prevention educators and personnel to conduct HIV testing and counseling. It also focuses on modifying values, structures, and practices that predispose women and girls to higher infection rates than men, and result in stigmatization of ill persons and public denial.
Global Health Council - www.globalhealth.org. The Global Health Council is the largest membership alliance dedicated to improving the quality of and access to health care worldwide. Its mission is to promote better health around the world by assisting all who work for improvement and equity in global health to secure the information and resources they need to work effectively. The site includes a Key Issues Guide on HIV/AIDS (www.globalhealth.org/issues/hivaids) as well as Notes from the Field.
Hospice Africa - hospice-africa.merseyside.org/. Hospice Africa was founded in 1993 to promote the initiation of hospice care in those countries where patients have not yet had the assistance of palliative medicine. Hospice Uganda is the "model hospice" for Hospice Africa. Directed by Dr. Anne Merriman, Hospice Uganda looks after terminally ill cancer patients by utilizing modern methods of pain and symptom management, and by offering counseling and spiritual support to the patient and family. It is estimated that nearly 75% of Hospice Africa's cancer patients also have AIDS.
International AIDS Economics Network (IAEN) - www.iaen.org/. The International AIDS Economic Network (IAEN) provides data, tools, and analysis on the economics of HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in developing countries, for compassionate, cost-effective responses to the global epidemic.
International Association of Physicians in AIDS Care (IAPAC) - www.iapac.org/. The IAPAC website provides HIV clinical management updates and public health policy information. The site includes conference information, IAPAC publications, advocacy information, and membership details. Many online educational resources on the clinical management of HIV/AIDS are available on their website.
Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) - www.ratn.org. The Regional AIDS Training Network (RATN) is an organization of training institutions in eastern and southern Africa.
It assists in the development and delivery of training courses in HIV/AIDS care and prevention, as well as organizational capacity building. It has an HIV/AIDS care and prevention training resource database on its website.
The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) - www.taso.co.ug/. Based in Uganda, The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) was founded in 1987 to contribute to a process of restoring hope and improving the quality of life of persons and communities affected by HIV infection and disease.
Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) - iisd1.iisd.ca/50comm/commdb/desc/d26.htm. Recognizing that HIV/AIDS has causes and consequences beyond the health sector, the Government of Uganda developed and adopted the Multi-sectoral Approach to the Control of AIDS (MACA). The MACA policy and strategy stipulates that "all Ugandans have an individual and collective responsibility to be actively involved in HIV/AIDS prevention and control activities, in a coordinated manner, at the various administrative and political levels up to the grassroots." The Uganda AIDS Commission (UAC) was established by Statute of Parliament in 1992 and placed under the Office of the President to coordinate the multi-sectoral efforts.
UNAIDS: The Joint UN Programme on HIV/AIDS - www.unaids.org/. As the main advocate for global action on HIV/AIDS, UNAIDS leads, strengthens, and supports an expanded response aimed at preventing the transmission of HIV, providing care and support, reducing the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV/AIDS, and alleviating the impact of the epidemic. The website includes an extensive list of publications on HIV/AIDS in the developing world, including an issue on AIDS Palliative Care in the Best Practices Collection.
World Health Organisation, profile on Uganda - www.whoafr.org/uganda/index.html. The World Health Organisation Regional Office for Africa has compiled a country health profile on Uganda that includes an overview, statistics on the burden of disease, information on the HIV/AIDS situation, and background on the country's health systems.
