SIM/MTW ACT

Walk or Run—But do it for a cause!

It is no secret that AIDS is a crisis in Africa, and with such a large problem facing nations that are so far away, it can be difficult to feel empowered to make a difference. We invite you to not only stand up, but to walk and run to help this region of the world.

Quick Stats

• In 2009, 1,116,216 Ethiopian were HIV infected.
• 59% of the HIV infected are women.
• Adult HIV prevalence — 3.5% of the population.
• Due to poor health, there is a rapid progression from HIV infection to AIDS.
• Only 53% of those who are HIV infected and need medication receive HIV medications.
• The percent of infants born to HIV infected mothers who are HIV infected is 20% (in the US it is less than 2%!).

Source: UNAIDS 2007

Mission To The World (MTW) -- ACT: AIDS Care & Treatment

Who We Are

Since 2003 SIM Ethiopia and the Presbyterian Church in America, through its agency Mission to the World (MTW), have partnered in an HIV/AIDS home-based care project in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  Through an agreement with the Bureau of Labor and Social Affairs of the Addis Ababa city government more than 450 HIV+ individuals and their families have been supported economically, medically, emotionally and spiritually.

With the introduction of life-saving anti-retro-viral drugs to Ethiopia the project has expanded its activities to include treatment support.  Working with the Addis Ababa Health Bureau, the project provides pre-treatment counseling and adherence support for patients receiving free treatment in 13 government health centers as well as Black Lion Hospital, the country’s primary hospital.

Community-Based Care: Individuals and families affected by HIV/AIDS are supported physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The project, through local staff and volunteers, ensures that the basic needs of beneficiaries and their families are met. By building relationships through home visits the project determines the specific needs of each beneficiary and plans the most appropriate response. Support may include house rent and renovations, nutritional support, school fees and uniforms, medical care and emotional and spiritual support. The goal is to improve and extend the lives of people living with HIV, reduce the impact on families and prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in the community. children of our HIV+ beneficiaries.  They have about 550 school-age children a requirement for the beneficiaries is that their children attend school.  Every year we pay school fees, buy uniforms and supplies and also give each child a new pair of shoes.  This year 3 churches in the states organized buying the shoes, but we could use help with the uniforms.  The monies raised from this year’s run, will help to pay for the cost of these uniforms and left over funds to help with school fees.

Treatment Support: Patients on life-saving HIV medications receive counseling and adherence support.
Anti-retro-viral drugs (ARVs) save and transform lives, but for them to work they must be taken correctly.  Depending on the prescription, most patients take two pills, twice every day.  These must be taken at the same time and without missing doses in order for treatment to be successful.

In order to be successful, patients must understand their illness, the medicines and how they work and the reasons for taking them according to such a strict regimen. But ARVs are complex drugs, sometimes with difficult side effects that must be taken correctly and on time and without missing doses.    The project helps beneficiaries with adherence by teaching them about the ARVs, providing simple tools like pillboxes and watches with alarms, and meeting regularly to talk about obstacles to adherence.   They also need to be taught about continuing to protect others from being infected.  Sometimes patients believe that after starting treatment they will not be infectious.  Others believe the drugs will have unbearable side effects or even kill them. Pre-treatment counseling is essential to effective treatment, and the project has worked with the World Health Organization (WHO) to train counselors and develop patient education materials.

Adherence, or staying on treatment, is necessary for the drugs to work properly and to avoid drug resistance.  Because the virus mutates so rapidly it is able to quickly develop resistance to the drugs being used against it.  When this happens the immune system is again depleted and there is treatment failure.  Unless a new drug combination is taken the patient develops AIDS and dies.

Drug resistance is also transmissible.  A resistant strain of HIV can be passed from person to person, eventually making the disease much more expensive and difficult to treat.  Adherence is important to both the individual and the country. The project also monitors CD4 counts (a measure of the immune system) and other health indicators.

Spiritual Care: God’s grace, demonstrated in Christ’s love and sacrifice, has the power to transform lives.

People with AIDS are often acutely aware of their mortality.  They fear what will happen when they die, and fear what will happen to their children.  Many have been taught that their good works must outnumber their bad deeds and while they hope that God is merciful they are afraid that they have fallen short.  For many, confined to bed, their opportunities for restoring the balance have passed.
The Gospel, offered without conditions, is great news.  Grace, unearned and undeserved, is living water that refreshes and brings peace.  Through all our activities, home visits, support groups, and at other times, staff and volunteers demonstrate and tell about Christ’s love and forgiveness.

ACT VISION: To reduce the impact and spread of HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia by obeying Christ’s command to care for   “ the least of these, my brothers.” Matt. 25:40

For more information about MTW ACT you can go directly to their website at mtwact.org

You can make a difference!

This 5k Run/Walk to Fight Aids in Africa is a charitable event — an event that will support so many people that you will never meet; never see their faces, and who will never really know about your Saturday morning that helped them and their family live.

Who would have thought that having fun with your friends and family on a Saturday morning would have so much impact on someone halfway around the world — but it will!