13/07/2023
Just back from the hospital. Hospitalized is an 8 month old baby boy who has tested HIV positive. No means to test if he is really HIV positive or is he only showing the antibodies of his mom. No way to treat him, as we don't have pediatric ARV. Ten children are waiting for those and are only on cotrimoxazole. The mother will come for testing this morning. The father came, and was also found HIV positive. No means to test for confirmation.
The whole situation frustrates me. It is frustrating for me to hear regularly that confirmation tests are not available. The National AIDS Program of DRC does not provide them (also a shortage?) On the local market they are difficult to find. The ARV's we have in stock expire by the end of next month and have been delivered to us recently.
What is the solution? We depend on organizations who are in Kinshasa, about 2000 km west of us. ARV's take a long time to come. Even in our health zone office they have a huge stock of those ARV's that expire next month. Is the solution to buy at the local market? Then we need funds to buy them.
I would love to find donors who are willing to help us to buy tests (determine and the confirmation tests), other materials needed to test, ARV's, pediatric ARV's, the PCR test for babies, and aldo the means to do home visits (we then would need a land cruiser, as some people on TARV come from far, and help to buy fuel.)
Are there donors who could help? I don't know but I am searching. Adi hospital is a general referral hospital with around 120 beds. The services we give are: pediatrics, maternity and gynecology, surgery, internal medicines, intensive care, laboratory, pharmacy, and organizing antenatal clinics where PMTCT is available, under five clinics, dentistry, x-ray and ultrasound. We work under the health zone of Adi, with its medical health officer Dr. Simon Ozimati.
Any ideas for funding possibilities are most welcome. Thank you very much.
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation Cordaid Tearfund DRC Samaritan's Purse
