Feedback from 5th International Conference on Home & Community based Care at Changmai

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

This is to share with all of you my feedback on the International

Conference on Home & Community based Care at Changmai, Thailand from

17th to 20th December, 2001. The theme of the conference was " Power of

humanity "

(1) Importance of Home & Community Care in the era of Antiretrovirals:

Dr Van Prag, Director of Care at Family Health International set

the tone with an excellent plenary talk on the importance of Home &

Community Care in resource rich & resource poor settings. He lamented

that home care issues is 'losing ground' to the campaign for universal

access to anti-retrovirals. Even in wealthy countries, home care is

still needed for PLHAs to ensure adherence to antretrovirals, to provide

psychological & emotional support, tackle stigma issues and providing

palliative care. It was important to understand that there is no 'magic

bullets' for HIV/AIDS and there needs to be a multi-faceted approach to

tackle the growing epidemic. Dr van Praag was adamant that home &

community based care complements the use of anti-retrovirals.

There were a number of presentations (both oral & posters) which looked

at various successful models for providing home & community based care

for PLHAs in Thailand, Cambodia, Uganda & Kenya. There was much more

clarity on the basic concepts and definition of Home & Community based

Care. There were various presentations that looked at

(a) Role of family, community, religious institutions, NGOs & Govt as

well as social networks in providing care & support for PLHAs

( Potentialities and coping ability of family and community in

handling problems and their role as caregivers

© Determinants of the chosen strategies/approaches (economic, social,

cultural, local beliefs & values)

(d) Mechanisms contributing to success or failure of the development and

implementation of home & community based care)

(e) Mobilising resources for Care & Support programs for PLHAs

There were a number of skills building workshops which looked at the

Continuum of care, role of family members as caregivers, Improving

access to HIV related treatment, home-based care, alternative care, care

for children affected by AIDS, care for IDUs etc.

(2) Positive living & PLHAs:

There were some strong presentations on what 'positive living' means to

PLHAs. Ms Lynde Francis from ICW, Zimbabwe made a fervent appeal for

PLHAs to empower themselves with the latest information on how the virus

affects the body and to fight the disease within themselves - not with

drugs but with healthly living, exercise, meditation and balanced

dietary habits. Different people living with HIV/AIDS from different

countries talked about their experiences including stigma faced by

PLHAs, the role of support groups in helping PLHAs to cope and the role

of PLHAs as counsellors and care giveres. There was also an Positive

lives exhibition and various skill building workshops on the same issues.

There was also a strong representation of PLHAs from India who made some

impressive presentations both oral as well as posters. In addition,

there was also a UNDP & Sahara sponsored symposium on Greater

Involvement of PLHAs which presented the results of a number of capacity

building activities identified and carried out by PLHA groups in

Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Srilanka.

(3) Incorporating care component in Community & Prevention programs:

Presentations & posters were also made on how to incorporate care &

support programs in community and HIV prevention projects in Thailand &

India.

(4) Tackling stigma & discrimination in the context of care for PLHAs:

There were presentations which looked at PLHA community mobilisation and

attempts to destigmatise AIDS in rural communities in India,

Indonesia, Zimbabwe etc.

General points:

* Overall, the conference was well organised with topics reflecting

the selected themes

* The whole concept of Home & Community based care was brought well

into focus

* Officials from NACO & Ministry of Health and doctors from

institutions were missing from the conference. Is it because of

the low priority given to Care & Support programs in India?

* India is far behind other countries in the region (Thailand,

Cambodia, Vietnam) in the area of Home & Community based care

except for few hospice and community care initiatives.

Dr Bitra

Sharan/ Salaam Baalak Trust

New Delhi