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Cotlands / Chris Hani Baragwanath HIV/AIDS counselling initiative
Cotlands Press Release. 15 May 2003
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The Cotlands/Chris Hani Baragwanath HIV/AIDS Counselling Project, sponsored by the Nedcor Foundation, is believed to be the first of its kind worldwide, and is expected to become a showcase to the rest of the world by providing a successful model of counselling services to HIV-positive children and their parents/primary care givers - and especially to those who have children in the last stages of the disease.
Through this groundbreaking project, volunteer counsellors have been recruited, screened and trained to counsel HIV-positive children and their mothers/primary care givers, as well as their extended families during the children's hospitalisation. Clinic defaulters are followed up both telephonically and through house visits.
Arising out of the initiative, support groups have been established and caregivers are receiving specialised training in the care of HIV-positive children at home. This has meant that many more children are remaining in the bosom of their families even in the extreme stages of AIDS, rather than being placed in institutionalised care.
This has many obvious benefits to the children and their families as well as to medical facilities. To date, 541 cases have been counselled by the Cotlands team at CHBH through the project, each initial session generally leading to several follow up sessions.
Cotlands Executive Director, Jackie Schoeman, says: "In simple terms, the initiative is providing a continuum of care services to children living with AIDS and their families by attending to the psycho-social, emotional and material needs of the children and their families, as a much needed supplement to their medical needs.
"Care and support services generally available to South African children living with HIV/AIDS are fragmented and unco-ordinated. In a clinical environment the focus often is on the medical aspects only. Together with the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital (CHBH) and with sponsorship from the Nedcor Foundation, Cotlands has recruited, screened and trained volunteer support counsellors, who provide ongoing support to families by counselling caregivers during clinic visits and during hospitalisation of the children. Clinic defaulters and families are followed-up telephonically and through house visits."
Head of the counselling project, Busi Nkosi, adds that material relief in the form of milk formula and clothing is also channelled wherever possible to the families being counselled, since most of these families are impoverished, living in conditions of lack which are conducive to serious illness.
CHBH paediatrician and head of the hospital's Paediatric HIV Outpatients, Dr Tammy Meyer, says: "For some time we have perceived a need for extra counsellors with specific skills, such as bereavement counselling, at the hospital. The establishment of the counselling initiative with Cotlands has significantly alleviated the burden on our nursing counsellors in terms of pre- and post-HIV test counselling, improved the support available to mothers of terminally ill children who in the past sat for long hours next to their child's bedside with no-one to talk to or support them. Both our medical and nursing teams have come to rely increasingly on this counselling service."
Commenting on behalf of the Nedcor Foundation, Paul Pereira says Nedcor's contribution to fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic is focused upon programmes which benefit those with HIV/AIDS, as well as their families, in a practical way. "Cotlands stands out in this battle as an organisation that has pioneered the care of HIV-positive children," he says. "We are proud to stand behind a group of people who have put themselves in the forefront of easing the distress of children afflicted with this disease. The Chris Hani Baragwanath Counselling Project is a shining example not only in this country, but to the rest of the world, of how professionals across a spectrum of vocations can pull together to make a very powerful difference."
About Cotlands
Cotlands is fast approaching its 68th year of service to the community. Since its establishment in 1936, the organisation has seen many adaptations and additions over the years, evolving continuously to meet the changing and challenging needs of South African society. Cotlands currently faces its biggest challenge - Africa's AIDS impacted children.
Its quest to maintain a safe, caring and stimulating environment for the children in its care has positioned Cotlands as one of South Africa's biggest independent, non-profit organisations caring for abandoned and abused children, and one of few organisations caring for children from birth to the age of six infected with HIV/AIDS. The organisation provides home-based care, a rapidly growing community outreach initiative, community development and training services in the field of HIV/AIDS on a national basis.
Read more about Cotlands by visiting its website at:
www.cotlands.org
or contact:
Jackie Schoeman
Marilyn Boyd Communications
PO Box 14409, Witfield 1467
Tel: (011) 823-2206
Fax: (011) 823-3448
E-mail: [email protected] |
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