HIV/AIDS: Positive Living and Resilience

HIV/AIDS Services
HIV BACKGROUND
Globally, an estimated 34 million people were living with HIV/AIDS in 2010.  14.2 million HIV positive people in need of drugs but 8 million of them cannot access it. Individuals were commonly infectedw ith HIV/AIDS in their most productive years (15-49). The scourge adverselly affects development.  The sub-Saharan African remained the greatest affected. An estimated 68% were living with HIV/AIDS in 2010.  For the last decade, committed political leadership, social change, innovation and rapid injection of new resources transformed the HIV success into a vanguard of global health success, and there came a new face of hope, resilience, courange, and responsibility.   Among the key findings from the progress report 2011 “Global HIV Response” were the need for updates on epidemc, interventions on preventions, scaling up treatment and care of people living with HIV/AIDS, scaling up services for key populations at a higher risk of HIV infection, scale up services for women and children, towards elimination of mother to child transmission, and improving maternal and child deaths in the contexts of HIV.   2011 indicated drastic improvement in the response to interventions by 21% since 1997, and deaths by 21% since 2005.  But, as of 2012; the situation in, particularly, Uganda has been very disappointing. HIV infections shot up again from 6.4% in 2005 to 7.3% in 2011, and females from 7.5% to 8.3%, and from 5% to 6.1%. HIV infection was higher in urban areas compared to rural.  The Uganda AIDS Commission reiterated the impact of leadership of the present government as very critical in the reduction of prevalence rates between 1992 (18%) and 2001 (6.2). The question remains, what went wrong? Was it leadership fatigue? Was it blurring of the message edge? Or is the population itself not taking responsibility?
Services:
HIV/AIDS is central element in reproductive health work in recent years. Reproductive health alone envisages a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing in all matters relating to health.  It deals with the reproductive process, functions and system at all stages of life.  And it implies that people are able to have satisfying and safe sex and that they have the capability to reproduce and freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so. Implicit in this condition are the right of men’s and women’s to be informed and to have access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of their choices for regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to appropriate health care services that will enable women’s to go safely through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. Reproductive health also includes sexual health, the purpose of which enhancement of life and personal relations, are not merely counselling and care related to reproduction and sexually transmitted disease.

Finally, our experience increasingly shows that there is a link between reproductive health and security since contraction of any of the illness amounted to compromise personal safety which is aggravated violence on the basis of being vulnerable by gender, age. Ignorance of society and poor national leadership leads into production of children who become social costs and social misfit, whose goals get met through further violence with the society and who fall break the cycle of lack of information on reproductive health and increased vulnerability, with which to safeguard themselves from future reproductive health conditions, lack of personal, social, and national or regional peace. Peace can be attained only when there is access to information, knowledge of safety measure, access of facilities, knowledge of using facilities empowering to the society. In my work, guarantee communities with these assured the country of peace and security.

IMI IDENTIFIED PREDISPOSITIONS:
Vulnerability of children, Mental Health and HIV
Child abuse verses repression, projection verses limited protection and values, narsism and deviant, iressitibility, crash verses irressititability, denial, child hood,and living illusive life, avoidant, aggression, irritability, violence (including sex-related), displacement, projection, rationalisation, represion and defensiveness. IMI RECOMMENDED ACTIONS: forcefully take for treatment, experience truth, give hope , self imagery of life after, selfwareness and mastering life of personal wellbeing, mastering life with HIV, self discpline, development of hobbies, finding supportive groups/clubs, seeking support and selfhelp literature, finding and participation in productive work, self discipline, nursing and working on wishes and dreams -as well as walking them.

HIV WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF FAMILY MENTAL HEALTH
The project centers on family conflicts (or family mental health issues) which, if mismanaged, potentially, spills over into the wider community. It goes further to trace individual concerns (inner conflicts) that families consciously or unconsciously perpetuate –which, if not given due attention, like a time-bomb, blows up into serious social costs like substance abuse, aggressive and risky behaviors, increased HIV/AIDS prevalence, low productivity, poverty and looming ignorance to solve those problems. It is, thus, pertinent to address such problems from the environment around the root (individuals at family level) in order to achieve sustainable peace in the wider community (global peace).
HOW YOU CAN BE INVOLVED
As client
As volunteer
As service activity sponsor
As client sponsor
As fundraiser
As donor/funder
As ambassador
As development partner
As friend
Visit us
Visit our blog www.integratedmhi.blogspot.ug
Visit our facebook page: www.facebook.com/integratedmentalhealthinitiative
HOW YOU CAN REACH US
Telephone: +256774336277 or +256752542504
Email: waiswajacobo@yahoo.co.uk or dishma.imhs@gmail.com 

Decision Making, Level of Attachment, Circumstances at Conception and Environment in Healthy Child Development

Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analyst
Dishma-Inc.
P.O. Box 8885,
Kampala-Uganda
Tel. +256392614655/+256752542504
dishma.imhs@gmail.com
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

Decision making is a choice reached after verifying available options, consequences, and resources to pursue a specific cause. It is as a result of a cost-benefit analysis of having children that a prospecting parent made decisions, rather than on the basis of urges or feelings. This was so simply because urges or feelings did not think apart from causing excitement.

Attachment denotes the nature of the bond between the mother and the child while level of attachment implies the degree of the existing bond between the mother and the baby or child.

Children in Uganda have been most marginalized –with children-friendly health services only limited to referral hospitals. Elsewhere in the country, children share facilities and health care services with adults –an indiscriminate administration of health –yet special care for them is paramount.

Direct, structural and institutionalized violence too claims the lives and right morals of children. Domestic violence does not only take the life of one of the parents, but also is psychological violence –moreover the worst a human being can experience. That, now, becomes a children affair to deal with, or a shared experience upon observing parents fight.

Cultural environment –which is discriminative according to gender; never recognizes the rights of children and the reproductive health rights of women –and those have turned out to be a huge and overwhelming social cost –including HIV spread and under-development. Cultural provides a way of life that suffocates the rights of women and children as men behaved immorally –supported by it.

The economic environment disables parent’s ability to sustain children education, or not even at all afford it –yet it is through child education that the future a community is secured –given the highly productive citizenry.

The cycle continues from children dropping out of school and opting to marry or succumbing to wrong and untimely choices to conceive –when pressured by the economy; then there the burden becomes a product to be handed over from one generation to another –rendering the talk of children rights only a dream.

Now, that the parent unhealthy lifestyle dictates the quality of life of a children, level of attachment –a level where insecurities and future behavioral problems begin; irresponsible parenthood, reckless and risky behaviors of a parents as children observe, low or no health seeking ensues –as there will be no money and, ultimately, lack of motivation to adopt a healthy lifestyle –even when health guidelines are issued (which in turn affects children health), leads to broken family situations, or broken marriage relationships. And as the saying goes, “if elephants fight it is the grass that suffers,” the consequences accruing from broken-family situation hit children hardest –as all the anger gets projected to them in form of abuse and neglect.

It is from such grounds that families and communities face accountability for in the child’s teen or youthful years. No shall we have a moral fabric in society, violent free generations, because society simply ignores the root causes of structural violence –whose origin is quality of care of children right from conception. And who should save the children of Uganda?

Parenting is thus a responsibility one finds himself or herself under voluntarily or involuntary. During adolescence, gradual changes that may be cognitive, emotional, biological, physical and social or environment occur.

The qualities of changes are influenced by how well decisions are made at different levels of interaction (cognition, instinct or biology, emotional, social and/or natural environment) in relation to one’s sexuality. It all begins at conception –through important stages of birth, special care of newborns, weaning, and child in playful stage, socialization and learning, gender roles or interests, young stardom, youthful period and adulthood.

It is important explore parents’ basis of taking on responsibilities over children, quality and level of attachment, parent’s ability and circumstances under which she or he conceived, and the parent’s nature of the environment and lifestyle.

However, equal treatment among children (boys and girls) must be emphasized as it was told by children (4 boys and 4 girls) and adults (6 males and 6 females) such that they both benefit from existing development opportunities –of education (both formal and informal) and employment.

Friendliness between parents and children was highlighted (4:4) –with correction behavior attributed to light beating -with strongest emphasis put on friendly conversations with children (6:6). However, to parents, family planning was still a big challenge –as hardly at all did men approve of it (regarding condom use).

On the other hand, women complained of hemorrhage and delayed resumption of pregnancy as most negative (2 of 6 mothers).

Condom use was out of every parent’s mind –given the fact that they were married (6:6). 1 of 6 mothers said that she privately sought family planning services, because her husband did not care about it vital role. 2 of 6 women nurtured a norm that alcohol eased delivery and was associated to healthy and pretty babies.

Becoming a parent was not only an urge or a status reached by accident as some young women say, but an issue –not even pressure from elders or traditions could determine. It was important to look at children as human capital of the future –through integrating health care, nutrition, and early child care services for young children in developing countries.

It did not matter what age of pregnancy, but from the time of conception. But for the purposes of this submission, care had to start from the time one started developing feeling to become mother or father because, ultimately, the quality of decisions made counted in determination child health.

Child care was a cost the prospecting parents needed to think about long before deciding to conceive. In fact, child care began at conception. Successful child care ought to put that into consideration, otherwise the psychological implications of neglect and abuse potentially turned out to be the most damaging to the child or baby.

Failure of parents to ensure child health growth and development is by and large a result of poverty. This greatly hampered decision making. In rural and semi-urban areas it is only mainly men who went to work while women stayed home to cook and bare children.

In the same way, the nature of jobs determined by their level of education do not at the same time help meet children development needs as women complained of men’s negligence. There is thus a need to start life skills education, poverty alleviation program and reproductive health (or health education) programs to help better family-life situation.

Broken-family events are a result of extended family system failing to stand the test of time (twentieth and twenty first century new world order). As the urge to have children arose as traditionally demanded from the ages of 18 and above or less, the new order, instead, required productivity of prospecting parents before, at all, they decided to have children.

Others –even when economically liberated will tell you that things are not really. The confidence is only left to the possibility that God will provide for them. For some reason, the question of sustainability of care and love within the family set-up is ignored –yet critical.

Policy makers should embark on massive gender-conscious literacy or education programs intertwined with aspects that address reproductive health concerns, impart life skills, or vocational skills –all of which empower communities with tools of rightful decision making that go as far as influencing health children development, or for that make transform children rights talk from theory to practice.

DECISION MAKING IN THE ENDLESS STRUGGLE TO BE HEALTHY: A CASE OF A NAGGING AND FRUSTRATING TOOTHACHE

Everybody falls sick at one moment in a lifetime. By virtue of living in the tropics, we stand high chances of getting sick. Being sick can be so depressing that some people would even think of committing suicide, and annoying so much that others would want to see others sick too. Sometimes so bothersome that a sense of comfort is only during some moments of the day, especially whenever friends come around.

At night it can be hell. Take a case of a toothache, acute malaria or influenza. One could for instance imagine that if malaria is that a terrible feeling, what would it feel for one with AIDS condition?

This does not mean to demean those with HIV/AIDS. It is just for the purposes of us all lamenting our experiences with some notorious illnesses. Although management is possible, AIDS pain can be so annihilating for a life time.

They are challenges we all need to overcome and only reminds us of a duty to listen to our bodies, understand them and take appropriate actions towards normalcy. For those who still enjoy divine grace -without terrible infections, it becomes primary obligations for them to toil away from them. It would mean using one's highest intelligence and determination to stay safe.

The gravest times could be when besieged by a terrible infection whilst poor -unable to transport oneself to a health center or eat food of one's choice as sometimes sickness may dictate. Remember some people might not want to be bothered with having to give a hand, which adds an insult to an injury.

As part of one's responsibility, it would be important taking records of occurrences or attacks of infections, the immediate interventions, how interventions worked and possible improvements in such interventions.

It is also important to write oneself a report indicating among other things lessons learnt, action plan behavioral or lifestyle changes. Resilience happens to be key during the tormenting times of an illness -while confident that with the little steps towards recovery or improvement are done, sanity would prevail.

It could entail finding and being involved in numerous distractions -off the mental focus on pain, seeking medical care, and assuming the position of masterly over one's illness. Part of the lifestyle changes too must be having good dietary choices, stress management and being vigilant at preventing new infections to one's body.

For continued self-mastery and hardening of the self it would be interesting and fun to do. Advocacy, reading related or helping literature, attending supportive training, remaining positive about the future, ensuring calm and patience -especially during the worst moments of the illness can be so rewarding.

Interventions too expire with time. This, thus, makes it important for one to find more information or updates about treatment illness suffered through consultations and reading a lot of extended literature the subject of interest.

It is also better to set one's standard scale of healthy living. When suffering from an infection, it should not be that fatality on one person could be the same as for another. Most important to note is that the state of the mind or psychological resilience amidst support received externally as medical, counseling, friendliness and other rewards from a healthy social relationships.

It should not be that if someone has died of a similar illness or underwent the usually deforming surgeries, in the same way others with similar trouble will. Instead, one could assume a position felt as being above that and understand the fact that little choices and actions will determine nature of outcomes.

Family members and friends could come with their own feeling about what to do or advice to take against the illness -much of which can be contradicting, pressurizing and misleading at the same time.

It is very important to think through all advices given and analyze them as they get tested against reality, personal safety and general wellness. It is important however to appreciate them of their kind information, politely. And upon analyzing information given, points could be ranked and important decisions for health improvement taken.

At times employers and at-work team-members may not empathize with one in his or her debilitating illness. They may see it as cheating, laziness or excuses to have personal holidays.

It is pertinent that one humbly and politely explains clearly his or her health condition for necessary advice or help from his or her work-mates or bosses. In the same breath ask for permission to seek medical attention or to get back home till recovery. This is so because sometimes field station can be so hostile that recovery is made slow or not at at all.

In the 1990's there was a case in Busoga College Mwiri (Jinja, Uganda) -where a child suspected to be home-sick, lazy was held long in school as his malaria fever worsened. The boy died in spite of his father back home being a medical assistant, who ably could administer drugs at home and have him recover. So this is how far social pressure could drive someone to.

Being knowledgeable about available health systems and part of it or being its beneficiary is very important for well-being-sustainability. While in touch with available health-system, personal discipline in line with responsibilities towards proper health behaviors must be observed.

During one's social roles as advocacy person, information acquired must be proof-read before dissemination. It would be one way of building a reputable self-image central to promoting one's ministry or work.

One of the objectives of this advocacy would be to break social resistance, reduce social discrimination, shape society to be hospitable and acceptable to marginalized groups or people infected and affected by certain illnesses. More so, the long-term ones. Social support system that include family members, friends, community health practitioners local leadership should be solicited for and tasked to help out when needed.

As a biggest sign that one loved himself or had positive regard for himself or herself, ought to find opportunities to train and acquire more skills in drug administration and best ways to help others in the same bracket – those with long term illnesses and the marginalized on the basis of their appearance or defect.

There is an instance of a man who experienced a terrible toothache for over two years. He was motivated to step up action planning to deal with it. He could no longer bare toothache , gum-blisters and bleeding, cost on work, and diminished social interactions.

After spending several thousands of Uganda shillings from his small savings, he realized how impoverishing a toothache could be. He, for example, could not feed well, fail to pay rent on time and forced to withdraw from social interactions.

Firstly of what he did was to revise the history of the toothache and realized he had been a fan of sweets, his brushing frequency was low -and even when he brushed he missed out on the crucial parts of his mouth. He wrote his findings down and began taking immediate action.

In fact in one of the actions taken which was to see intern dental students for advice. According to them, the only option, was to remove four molar teeth -including those that were not aching at all.

This, too, was supported by their supervisor -with intimidating statements that the patient was keeping a time-bomb (of a worse toothache), which will in near future necessitate similar recommendation as theirs -regardless of where the patient visited for help. What an ambition decision by them!

Indeed, some of the medical decisions turnout to be full of errors. Upon resorting to bacteria and pain fights in a new relationship with drug-shops alongside effective brushing, the patient recovered until today.

Upon doing so, he began to regain his positive-self along side a feeling of a hard-gained relief. Several actions led to a lot more innovations like learning that an old tooth brush adopted after losing a new one could lead to re-infection that was much worse on him than the previous one.

And that instead of following the manufacturers usage of a tooth brush: said to be a period of only up to three months, he chose a week of usage to keep away several bacteria accumulating on the tooth brush, and because a period of stipulated three months only applied to normal teeth or gum.

For those who live several miles from the health facility or in areas where money comes in by accident, it is pretty intelligent to buy oneself a first aid box in which drugs are stocked and re-stocked. With it in place, the care-taker should ensure that at all times, he or she possesses drugs to treat even the most common ailments.

Jacob Waiswa
Situation Health Analysis
www.situationhealthanalysis.blogspot.com

IMPORTANT WAYS FOR EFFECTIVE LUKIIKO/COMMUNITY MEETINGS MANAGEMENT

BY

JACOB WAISWA

Erect organizing committee

Publicize event

Registration of members as they come

Form and discuss agenda

Keep arrive time and participants should not be kept for long before activity begins

Set time duration and help limit agenda to set time

Introductions moment where members say name, what they do and where they stay

Read the agenda before participants or let everyone get a copy

Outline ground rules during debate and discussion or could be democratically set

Create two other departments to help keep time and discipline

Outline clearly the desired objectives

Ensure equal treatment for all participants

Encourage independence of opinion and expression

Encourage mutual respect for every opinion raised

Be a chairpersons role to appreciate every opinion raised whilst guiding participants to focus and discuss about the topic of the day

Write report