©InfoThe British Red Cross is working in partnership with the Lesotho Red Cross to run a community home-based care HIV programme and we need £200,000 a year to fund it. The project gives much-needed support to families, orphans and vulnerable children and helps reduce the spread of HIV and lessen its impact on communities. It is being run across 56 villages in the Quthing, Mapholaneng and Kena areas of Lesotho.
Project summary
Lesotho has the third highest prevalence of HIV in the world. Almost one in every four adults is HIV positive, there are 70 AIDS-related deaths each day and average life expectancy has dropped to just 40 years.
Despite government efforts to control the spread of HIV, infection rates have continued to rise and overall coverage of HIV-related services remains limited.
According to Red Cross research in 2005, almost half of the people living with HIV are not receiving the care they need. Many are forced to rely on family members to look after them when they become sick. Young children often become heads of households and care for their parents and grandparents. Around 150,000 children have been orphaned because of AIDS and 18,000 children are living with HIV.
About the project
Red Cross volunteers visit people living with HIV and provide them and their families with information, care and support to help them cope better.
The project gives orphans and other children made vulnerable by HIV and AIDS increased access to education, healthcare, shelter, clothing and food supplies. Volunteers are trained to:
- inform people about drug treatments
- provide psychological and social support
- make referrals for appropriate medical care
- distribute food parcels to the most vulnerable
- help families set up projects so they can generate income
- educate people about disease and safer sexual behaviour.
Families are encouraged to put together a 'memory box' about their history, to help children cope better before and after their parents die. It also gives children the opportunity to ask questions about how their parents became ill, which can help them avoid infection and combat stigma and discrimination.
Your support
The British Red Cross needs £200,000 to support the running of the project. Please give generously and help change lives.
We value the support we receive very highly. The Red Cross has a permanent presence in communities across the world through our sister National Societies. We can therefore provide assurances that our donations are secure
We invite supporters to become as involved in our work as they wish to, so they understand their impact on the people we help. We want our supporters to feel as much of a sense of ownership and pride in the Red Cross as we do.
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