NGO targets Blantyre HIV+ adolescents
Bantwana World Education Initiative, a non-governmental organisation (NGO), plans to roll out Ana Patsogolo Project that seeks to prevent new HIV infections and support case management for adolescents with the virus in Blantyre.
In an interview, Bantwana prevention services technical leader Marriam Mangochi said the $32 million (about K24 billion) five-year project targets about 23 000 beneficiaries.
“The project aims at facilitating testing for children and adolescents at risk of HIV infection and facilitate linkage to treatment and improving support and case management for vulnerable children and adolescents living with HIV,” she said.
Mangochi said the project will support government to strengthen and operationalise multi-sector coordination from national to community level and enhance child protection systems.
In a separate interview, Blantyre district social welfare officer Stephano Joseph described the project as key to child protection case management as an approach to improving the lives of orphans and vulnerable children.
“The project will ensure that child protection service points such as community victim support units, one-stop centres and child protection workers are fully utilised and that cases are attended to in a coordinated manner to strengthen and improve service delivery,” he said.
Joseph also said the district expects to reinforce child protection information management system to improve the well-being of the infected and affected children.
The project will also be implemented in Chikwawa and Mulanje from October this year and it is jointly funded by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) and the United States Agency for International Development (USaid).
