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The AIDS Care Trust of Namibia was established as a Trust in 1992 to operate as a Non-Governmental Organization and began its activities in June 1993. The establishment of the Trust came as a joint effort in striving to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Namibia through innovative combinations of Home Based Care, Pre and Post-Test Counseling and the provision of Information, Education and Communication to different segmentations of the communities. · ACT has been raising awareness through: · Conducting workshops in schools, in institutes of higher learning, churches and for various women and youth groups with the aim to set up AIDS clubs run by volunteers. Members of these clubs select people who will be trained as counselors, condom and information distributors. These clubs are mostly based in Windhoek (since 1995). · Publishing informative material about HIV/AIDS in different languages. · Media presentations on HIV/AIDS related topics on the National Radio as well as on community based radio, as an average three times per week (since 1996). · Training of community educators and mobilizers to enable them to train other community members in the respective regions. People trained in the community are supporting volunteers through counseling and the provision of information and education (since 1996). · Conducting training of the participants of the National Youth Scheme in conjunction with the Ministry of Youth and Sport. The purpose of the training was to equip the young people with counseling and Home Based Care skills and information on HIV/AIDS.
Mission Statement: To assist in the prevention of and reduction of HIV/AIDS and STD’s by providing and distributing necessary information as well as providing training. To educate and improve the health of people infected and /or affected by HIV/AIDS through support groups, counseling and enhancing the knowledge of education. To strengthen ties with professional organizations and other service providers by providing workshops and training sessions and in this way lessen the impact of HIV/AIDS, whilst simultaneously providing capacity building.
HIV/AIDS is undoubtedly one of the worst catastrophes the world has ever had to deal with. More than 26 million people infected worldwide and close to 100 million children being orphaned. In Namibia approximately 20% of the adult population and 26% of children are infected with the virus. With a population of below 2 million the country has a mammoth task on its hands in terms of curbing the disease and also raising awareness. There is a need for effective all-embracing interventions that work continuously at grass-root level to minimize the threat of this global pandemic. It is through sentiments such as this that the AIDS Care Trust was established.
Theobald Mukena for AIDS Care Trust |