BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION, UGANDA

 

PEDIATRIC HIV CARE AND TREATMENT SERVICES AT MULAGO HOSPITAL PIDC WARD 15

 

History of PIDC
Pediatric HIV care services in Mulago Hospital started way back in 1988 in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, ward 15. In 2002, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) supported Mulago to refurbish and equip ward 15, transforming it into the new Paediatric Infectious Diseases Clinic (PIDC). Other partners like the Academic Alliance (now Infectious Diseases Institute), Feed the Children Uganda, Child Advocacy International (CAI) and Paediatric AIDS Canada came on board and contributed significantly to the success of PIDC.

In 2003, PIDC started collaboration with Baylor College of Medicine (BCM), Houston, Texas, USA, getting significant technical and resource support that fundamentally changed it into the leading pediatric HIV care and treatment center in Uganda, with satellites at Naguru and Kawempe KCC clinics and TASO Kanyanya. Baylor-PIDC in collaboration with UNICEF and Clinton HIV/ AIDS Initiative have been able to expand services to the hospitals below; Kilembe Mines, Bwera Soroti, Lwala and Kaberamaido.

Mission and vision:
PIDC exists in order to promote, protect and support the health of HIV exposed and infected children and adolescents of Uganda such that they can attain self fulfillment; to train health professionals, to carry out research and to excel in all we do with dedication.

Clientele and staff:

PIDC's primary clients are the HIV infected and HIV exposed children aged 0-18 years. However, realizing that children can only come into care through their parents/guardians, the family care concept is promoted.
PIDC under the able leadership of Dr Addy Kekitiinwa, a senior Consultant Paediatrician, boasts of a highly dedicated team of health professionals with optimal competences.

Service delivery points/sites:
Daily clinics run at Mulago Hospital ward 15 (Old Mulago) and weekly clinics at satellites; Kawempe KCC clinic (Monday and Friday), Naguru KCC clinic (Thursday) and TASO Kanyanya (Wednesday). In December 2006, PIDC started operating weekly PIDC clinics at Lwala and Kaberamaido hospitals in Kaberamaido district and Kilembe Mines and Bwera hospitals in Kasese district.

 

Services:
HIV counseling and testing:

PIDC offers both facility and community based HIV counseling and testing services for children and their caretakers, 18 months benefit from the more sensitive DNA-PCR test. PIDC is one of the few previleged organization which offers DNA-PCR tests for early HIV diagnosis.

HIV care and treatment:

All HIV positive clients routinely attend PIDC clinics once in 2-3 months and at each visit, our experienced health professionals assess and after ARVs to those eligibility for anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs). However, patients who fall sick between the routine visits just walk in.
Home Health Program: The effectiveness of ARVS greatly depends on patient adherence and in this regard, PIDC has established a Home Health Program that conducts home visits to monitor patients' adherence to treatment at home and tracking those who fail to honor their appointments.

Training of health professionals:

As a center of excellence in pediatric HIV care and treatment service, PIDC offers trainings for health professionals from ART centers all over the country. Continuing Medical Education (CME) sessions that extensively cover pediatric HIV care are organized in the clinic settings.

 

Adolescent services:

PIDC adolescents, some of whom joined as children and have now grown into useful and hard working adolescents, their services include as psychosocial counseling, peer support meetings, games and sports as well as literacy programs, in addition to Septrin and ARVs. Some of our outspoken adolescents have attended both national and international conferences and made presentations about their life experiences and generally helped their fellow youths in similar situations tocome out and seek for care.

 

Key highlights:
_ Over 11,300 HIV tests performed in PIDC sites per year, including 773 DNA-PCR tests.

_ Each month, about 550 HIV positive children and adolescents screened for HAART, 15% of which are usually eligible and start on ARVs.

_ Over 2000 children actively receiving ARVs.

_ A cumulative 3,750 household visits conducted, 1,820 of them for ART adherence support and 350, Home Based HIV counseling and testing services.
_ Over 900 health professionals have been trained through workshops or mentorship/attachments at our HIV clinic.

_ Provision of free mosquito nets and a safe water vessel, for all our registered patients.
Future plans: Construction of a multimillion dollar Baylor College Medicine Bristol Myers Squibb Children’s Clinical Center Of Excellence (COE), adjacent to New Mulago Hospital Complex, expected to be completed and opened late this year.

_ Community sensitization to create awareness about and demand for pediatric HIV services, through radio programs and other media. Already, our adolescents are presenting on different radio talk show programs in Kampala.

_ Opening of new satellites at Kitebi KCC Clinic on 6th June, 2007.

_ Strengthening partnerships with organizations like UNICEF to expand HIV testing and treatment services to upcountry districts.

_ Collaboration with other organizations like Clinton Foundation to increase on the available ARV slots for eligible children.

 

Mulago Hospital - PIDC Children’s Ward P.O. Box 72052, Clock Tower Kampala, Uganda. Tel: 0312 307264, Fax: 0312 307 267 Website: www.bayloraids.org