Cameroon
Cameroon, with a population of 16 million, has an HIV seroprevalence rate of 5.4 percent. An estimated 450,000people are HIV-infected. AIDS has also orphaned 240,000 children.
Since 2003, ICAP’s MTCT-Plus Initiative has been working with the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Board, a faith-based organization, to strengthen family-focused HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment to three healthcare facilities in the country’s Northwest Province. ICAP-supported programs at these facilities focus on identifying HIV-infected women through prevention of mother-to-child transmission programs (PMTCT) and enrolling them into care and treatment, including antiretroviral therapy. Care and treatment services also are extended to family members of HIV-infected women, including their children and partners.
Other ICAP-supported activities in Cameroon focus on:
- HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment, including provision of antiretroviral therapy;
- Integrated tuberculosis/HIV care and treatment;
- Rapid HIV testing for adults and children;
- Diagnostic testing/analysis, including Dried Blood Spot DNA PCR testing for infants;
- Training programs for all cadres of healthcare providers of HIV/AIDS prevention, care, and treatment;
- Community outreach;
- HIV support groups, including medication and treatment adherence;
- Peer education programs;
- Social services/social support;
- Nutrition support;
- Referral services;
- Home-based/community-based visits;
- Development and implementation of patient-information systems;
- Pharmacy services;
- Laboratory support;
- Targeted evaluations.