Long Term Support

PAC supports the long term health and wellness of children with AIDS by providing antiretroviral medicines (ARVs) to our partner clinics for distribution. These drugs fight HIV by lowering the amount of the virus in the body and allowing the immune system to regenerate.

ARVs are literally lifesaving for the children who receive them, but once ARV therapy has begun, the child must continue to take these medicines every day for the rest of their lives or they will die.

To work properly, ARVs must be taken at specific times and in specific ways.  People taking ARVs must also have access to proper nutrition; without adequate food, the medicines are simply too strong for the body to handle.  Through our partners, PAC also supports adherence and nutrition programs to maximize the effectiveness of the ARVs we deliver.

We recognize that the best way to help a child thrive is to keep their parents healthy.  PAC also provides ARVs and medical support for the parents of the children we serve.

In 2006, PAC supplied ARVs to 10.6% of children in Kenya and 6% of children in Uganda who were receiving these lifesaving medicines.  We were the first organization to provide ARVs to Children in both these countries.

Prevention of Mother-to-Child-Transmission (PMTCT)

Almost all children with HIV contract the virus from their mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, or breastfeeding.  This process is called Mother-to-Child-Transmission (MTCT).  Without preventative therapy, up to 50% of children born to HIV+ mothers will be infected through MTCT.  PAC is working to halt the spread of the AIDS pandemic by supporting single-dose Nevirapine therapy for labouring mothers and newborn infants. 

Nevirapine is a powerful medication that significantly reduces the amount of the HIV virus present in the mother’s body at the time she gives birth.  The dose of Nevirapine the mother receives during labour remains in her system for several months, reducing her risk of passing the virus on to her baby through breast milk. This is crucial in Africa where extreme poverty and lack of access to formula makes nursing the only practical option. 

Over 95% of babies born to mothers who receive Nevirapine therapy at one of our partner clinics do not develop HIV.

Fighting Opportunistic Infections

AIDS devastates the body’s ability to fight off sickness and disease, leaving a person with AIDS vulnerable to opportunistic infections like malaria, TB, pneumonia, and some cancers.  These illnesses can kill a person with AIDS within days.

PAC combats opportunistic infections by providing chemotherapy drugs (for children with AIDS related cancers), treated mosquito nets (to combat malaria), and cotrimoxazole.  Cotrimoxazole is an antibiotic and considered to be critical for children who are HIV+.  It provides protection against opportunistic infections, can delay the need to initiate ARV therapy, and has been shown to reduce the risk of death in children living with HIV by more than 40%. 

Other medicines we provide include anti-fungals, anti-malarials, anti-inflammatories, and basic pain medications.  We also supply complementary items such as gloves, needles, syringes, and empty bottles for distributing bulk-packaged medications.

Infrastructure

We assist our partner clinics by providing them with the equipment and infrastructure to enhance their ability to provide lifesaving ARV medications to children in need.

Accurate blood-testing and monitoring equipment is essential to the diagnosis and treatment of AIDS.  By sourcing and supplying this laboratory equipment, we help our partner clinics reduce their reliance on outside testing facilities, become more self-sufficient, lower their operating costs, promote earlier testing and diagnosis, and increase their capacity to provide ARV treatment.

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