Strategy

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day

Give him a fishing rod (and teach him how to use it) and you feed him for life

We do not TREAT patients directly

Our training model works on the premise that by training the health professionals themselves, the benefits are ongoing.

Training provided to individual professionals empowers them to provide more efficient and effective care to their patients. This training can then be shared and used by others within their workplaces. We aim to reach 5700 health professionals per annum.

The long term effect of HIV on children can now be contained with appropriate treatment. Prior to Antiretroviral Treatment (ART), most children and babies in SA with HIV did not live beyond 5 years old. The care required was acute care, and because of the high mortality rate, short-term.

However South African Healthcare professionals still need considerable training to develop sustainable methods and practical skills in HIV management, now they have the medication to treat it. The type of care required now, is long-term outpatient care, requiring different skills and working methods.

For over 20 years, paediatric health care professionals in the United Kingdom have been at the cutting edge of the field, developing and delivering optimal treatment for children living with HIV. They have the proven expertise, longitudinal experience and practical skills to treat children. They are therefore ideally placed to offer a better understanding of the long-term treatments, benefits and challenges for children on Antiretroviral Treatments.

All CHIVA Africa volunteers' are Senior NHS consultants and allied health workers with a minimum of 8 years experience working directly with children and families infected and affected by HIV. Many have 15-20 years experience in the field.

CHIVA Africa volunteer teams of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, dieticians, midwives and psychologists train and mentor health professionals working within the Government Departments of Health in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), the Eastern Cape (EC) and Northwest Province (NWP).

The Next 3 years

CHIVA Africa has plans in place to send a minimum of 25 specialised Paediatric HIV volunteer teams to hospitals and primary healthcare facilities in the KwaZulu-Natal, North West Province and Eastern Cape annually each year for the next 3 years.

CHIVA Africa's Training and Teaching Methods:

• On-site mentoring
• Didactic teaching sessions, in small groups on-site
• Bed-side ward rounds: shadowing and small group case discussions.
• District , regional and province-wide workshops and seminars

  CHIVA Africa: Mentoring; Partnering; Saving Lives