OUR STORY
HIV and AIDS in Cameroon
The Cameroon Government has taken many HIV and AIDS strategies since 1983 after the first case was identified in 1981. This was done in different phases and CMWA_Bamenda has been present and active since the second phase. The first phase included mass awareness campaigns aimed at educating the population about the existence of the HIV and AIDS pandemic. This phase failed to have an impact on the prevalence rate which continued to rise.
With financial support from the International Development Association and the World Bank Group, the third phase was launched in the form of a Multi Sectorial Project. It involved empowering local rural and urban communities and councils using a participatory process to enable them to encourage, adopt and monitor behaviour changes pertaining to HIV and AIDS. Numerous actors including CMWA_Bamenda were trained as actors to carry out this activity which involved carrying out community diagnoses and developing action plans. Unfortunately this approach was not sufficient to curb the rising prevalence rate .
The last and most recent phase was the introduction of the home-based care approach in Cameroon which offering a solution to the challenges of low hospital attendance, illness care being provided by untrained family and associates and low health facility capacities.
OUR STORY
CMWA_Bamenda Experience in this Domain
CMWA_Bamenda has been active for over a decade working towards improving the quality of life of those living with HIV/AIDS, reducing the stigma associated with the disease, and sensitizing the population about positive living and preventive measures.
HIV and AIDS awareness campaign with villages
In Phase 2, CMWA_Bamenda was active in carrying out awareness raising campaigns with school teachers and in communities in the north west region. In Phase 3, CMWA_Bamenda continued in its fight against HIV and AIDS by being trained by the Regional Technical Group to carryout community diagnoses and to help local councils and communities develop HIV and AIDS action plans. In Phase 4, CMWA_Bamenda was among the first organizations in the North West Region to join the government program focused on providing home-based care to people living with HIV and AIDS through home visits and using community volunteers.
Through its community health programs, CMWA_Bamenda has supported more than 1500 orphans and vulnerable children at various education levels; provided psychosocial , economic and educational support to infected women through close collaboration with savings and loans cooperatives and the ILO, VSO, and CARE; and provided HIV and AIDS education campaigns in 89 villages and 60 secondary schools. CMWA_Bamenda also supported 36 communities in developing local action plans to fight HIV.
CMWA_Bamenda hasn’t only been active in the area of HIV and AIDS, it has also recognized the importance of a wholistic approach to health. To the regard, CMWA_Bamenda has been expanding its programs and objectives to focusing on other diseases such as malaria, diabetes and hypertension which all have significant impacts of the health of the people of the North West Region.
Some of the Health projects CMWA_Bamenda has been involved in include: