History
Nsambya Home Care was initially founded and managed by the Franciscan Sisters, as a response to the AIDS scourge in 1987. There was overcrowding in the Nsambya Hospital wards; hence the opening of a separate department for AIDS patients. Rooms were eventually put up for counselling to ensure confidentiality. The very weak clients who were not getting better were visited in their homes by a doctor, a nurse and a counsellor.
In 1987 a total number of 327 clients were registered. The numbers increased as years went by. Different interventions were put in place to respond to challenges that cropped up. These included the creation of outreach clinics, Behavior Change Programs, Paediatric Counselling, Income Generating Activities, Youth Forum for the youth, Pastoral care services, Education for life programs, AIDS sensitization programs and involvement of client volunteers in the program.
Aids patient Care in areas of high sero-prevalence is becoming a problem, with increasing demand on hospital bed capacity. Various innovative approaches have been tried to provide care, but cost analysis against benefits of these approaches has rarely been done. Nsambya Hospital used inpatient, outpatient and outreach mobile Home Care for AIDS to provide a continuum of care since 1989. Hospital records of AIDS patients cared for and the corresponding costs were analyzed for a rough cost benefit evaluation of this approach.
Chronic illness is a common but very much neglected health problem in sub Saharan Africa. People suffer from longstanding pain and symptoms caused by ‘incurable’ conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes, COPD and kidney failure. In the last decade, the numerous AIDS patients have joined this group. Their main and common problem is a longstanding, progressively debilitating condition, which silently undermines their physical and mental health and weakens their socio-economic status.
To date Nsambya Home Care has more than 10,000 active clients involving children. This paper will discuss the interventions put up by a religious based organization in fighting, and caring for AIDS patients without blaming or condemning them.
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