Fighting HIV and TB in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

While the world is recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight against other infectious diseases, such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB), has never stopped.

The World Bank expects extreme poverty to rise globally for the first time in over 20 years and many HIV and TB programmes have been affected by the consequences of COVID-19, disrupting many years of progress. It has never been more important to join forces in the fight against HIV/AIDS and TB.

Investing in the health of young women

In sub-Saharan Africa, adolescent girls and young women are more than twice as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers. The root causes of their vulnerability are gender inequality, discrimination, gender-based violence, limited access to education, and lack of tailored healthcare services.

From the peak of the HIV crisis in the late 1990s and early 2000s, annual AIDS-related deaths and new infections have been cut by half. Worldwide, of the 38 million people living with HIV, 26 million received antiretroviral therapy by June 2020. Since 2010, the number of HIV-related deaths decreased by 39% (UNAIDS).

Hubs to support adolescent girls and young women

Cordaid works in 24 of the 26 provinces of the DRC. We are responsible for the distribution of HIV and TB medicines and community health activities, both for prevention and to facilitate treatment.

Addressing the disproportionate impact of HIV by investing in the health and rights of vulnerable adolescent girls and young women helps them to become healthy and empowered.

Our approach is to develop hubs to support them. These hubs ensure maximum synergy between various activities and cover these four pillars:

Community
Create a change of mentality and social norms around sexual health, HIV, human rights and gender-based violence in communities.

Healthcare centres
Establish youth-friendly healthcare centres where girls have easy access without stigma or discrimination.

Education
Deliver practical rights and HIV education.

Legal Assistance
Offer legal assistance and psychosocial support to victims of gender-based violence in legal centres. The referral system will be improved.

This approach reduces gender inequality and creates a ripple effect that delivers numerous societal gains, also benefitting families and communities.

SOME OF OUR KEY RESULTS

Follow the pill

Watch this video on how Cordaid is reaching tens of thousands of patients, even in the most isolated and difficult places of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, whose lives depend on antiretroviral treatment and support:

Our partners

All the activities are closely coordinated with the National AIDS and Tuberculosis Programs implemented by the Ministry of Health on a national, regional, and local level.

In collaboration with 28 civil society partners, Cordaid works permanently to assure the distribution of ARV and anti-tuberculosis drugs throughout the country and supports 80% of the country’s health zones to deliver the package of HIV/AIDS and TB services.

With our partners, we work on overcoming logistical challenges due to poor road infrastructure and other difficulties. This is necessary to ensure quality treatment of HIV/AIDS and TB, make sure patients stay on treatment, and for the prevention of HIV and multidrug-resistant TB.

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