The AIDS Support Organization

The AIDS Support Organization
Motto A World without HIV
Formation 1987
Founder Noerine Kaleeba
Type Non Governmental Organization
Purpose Humanitarian
Headquarters Uganda
Website wwww.tasouganda.org

The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is an indigenous HIV and AIDS service initiative, registered in Uganda as a non-governmental organisation. It is a pioneer non-public actor in the HIV and AIDS response in Uganda and sub-Saharan Africa. It is a membership organisation with over 4,000 subscriber members.[1]

Overview

The AIDS Support Organisation is a non-governmental organisation started in Uganda in 1987 by a group of medical staff who had witnessed how badly patients showing signs of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were being treated on the wards in the National Referral Hospital Mulago Kampala. It started out as a small informal group of people meeting to talk about HIV and AIDS.[2] and grow into an organisation. It then grew into one of the major HIV and AIDS care organisations in Uganda [3][4] It was started when Uganda was just recovering from a war that brought the current Government to power.[5]

It was founded to provide comfort to patients who were being discriminated against and sometimes abandoned by relatives to die within the hospital compound.[6][7] As the number of people coming for comfort to this small group grew, counseling became a necessary service to keep those seeking comfort.[8] TASO grew into one of the largest indigenous HIV and AIDS services Organisation in Uganda.[9]

After Christopher Kaleeba, a radiographer, tested positive for HIV and suffered stigma and discrimination at the hands of his contemporaries in Mulago Hospital; he suggested to his wife (Noerine Kaleeba) and her friend (both physiotherapists in Mulago Hospital) that a support group be formed to encourage those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS within the hospital.[10][11][12]

The small group, composed of health workers and some patients, were allocated a room in the Polio Clinic at Mulago Hospital where they began offering clinical out-patient services run by Prof. Elly Katabira as in AIDS Clinic.[13]

In 1989, TASO was privileged to host Philly Lutaaya a known musician, AIDS activitist and first prominent person to put a human face to AIDS in Uganda. His song "Alone" was adopted as an anthem in TASO as well as many other AIDS groups in Uganda and many other countries.[14][15] Following the example of Philly Lutaaya, clients who were gifted in music, dance and drama began performing in local communities to sensistise them on HIV and AIDS.[16] The use of music, dance and drama was replicated in all the TASO Centers and became a major tool for crowd mobilisation and community sensitisation.[17] At the end of 1993, TASO had expanded from one district to seven districts in Uganda.[18]

Partnerships

Together with another organisation called Traditional and modern Health practitioners Together Against AIDS (THETA), TASO pioneered the collaboration with traditional healers in 1992 to give them basic counseling skills as well as knowledge about HIV infection.[19]

From October 1999 - 2007, TASO partnered with National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA) to run the Child Survival Project. The Project cost $1,000,000 and assisted 435 children to improve their literacy skills and to acquire skills that are essential for survival.[20] From October 2000 - 2007, TASO implemented the Vocational Apprenticeships for Vulnerable Children. It cost $926,355 and 832 children benefited through apprenticeship training.[21]

From 2004 - 2006, TASO partnered with the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda to implement the Partners for Food Security (PAFOSE) Project. Through this partnership both organisations were able to address issues pertaining to food insecurity within households in rural Uganda especially in the district of Tororo.TASO has partnered with some of the most at risk groups to spearhead HIV prevention in Uganda. For example, the uniformed forces[22]

In 2012, TASO celebrated its Silver Jubilee. It is also the day it launched its new Strategic Plan (2013 - 2017) which called for more funding (both local and international) for HIV related services in Uganda.TASO collaborated with World Food Program to provide food to its clients.TASO recognised that clients need a source of livelihood and therefore partnered with other organisations such as Poultry Project to provide chicken to families as well as other animals such as pigs as Income Generating Activities.[23]

Services

Family Planning[24]
Home Care services[25]
  1. Pre and Post test counseling[26]
TASO began operating outreach clinics in ...... These were phased out in 2011 after funding from USAID went down.[27]
In 2013, TASO rolled out services in the treatment and diagnosis of other opportunistic infections such as cervical cancer and tuberculosis. In the same year, TASO expanded its services to also include Safe Male Circumcision.[28]
TASO has also supported efforts to fight stigma among couples to increase uptake of HIV related services in Uganda.[29]
TASO has been involved in several community programmes as well as HIV-related clinical studies and drug trials[30]
TASO has partnered with several institutions and universities to carry out research in HIV related matters. An example is the partnership with University of Ottawa on a study on Microfinance, clinical trials and income of HIV+ clients in Africa.[31]
  1. Good Adherence to HAART and improved survival in a community HIV/AIDS treatment and care programme: the experience of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Kampala, Uganda. Published 20 November 2008 by BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:241. doi:10 1186/1472-6963/8/241. Abaasa M. Andrew et al.
  2. Reliability of scored patient generated subjective global assessment for nutritional status among HIV infected adults in TASO, Kampala. Published 2011 by African Health Sciences 2011; 11(S1): S86 - S92.

TASO Centers

TASO has 11 Centers established across the country.[32]

  1. TASO Mulago (Est November 1987)
  2. TASO Masaka (Est May 1988)
  3. TASO Training Center (Est October 1988)
  4. TASO Tororo (Est November 1988)
  5. TASO Mbarara (Est January 1989)
  6. TASO Mbale (Est March 1990)
  7. TASO Jinja (Est March 1991)
  8. TASO Entebbe (Est November 1991)
  9. TASO Gulu (Est January 2004)
  10. TASO Rukungiri (Est August 2004)
  11. TASO Soroti (Est August 2004)
  12. TASO Masindi (Est August 2005)

Projects

Active

  1. Grants Management Unit
  2. SCALAP - Karamoja
  3. CAPT Network

Ended

  1. TEACH - (Started in 2005, to support AIDS Service Organisations in Sub Saharan Africa to build their capacity in offering HIV related services.)[33]
  1. SCOT
  2. REACH U
  3. PrEP
  4. SUSTAIN
  5. Nu-Hites

References

  1. ↑ matovu, sylvia. "The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO)". www.tasouganda.org. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  2. ↑ Noerine Kaleeba; Sunanda Ray. We Miss You All (3rd ed.). SAFAIDS. p. 33.
  3. ↑ Rujumba, Joseph; Neema, S; Byamugisha, R; Tylleskär, T; Tumwine, J. K.; Heggenhougen, H. K. (2012). ""Telling my husband I have HIV is too heavy to come out of my mouth". pregnant women's disclosure experiences and support needs following antenatal HIV testing in Eastern Uganda". Journal of the International AIDS Society. 15 (2): 17429. doi:10.7448/ias.15.2.17429. PMC 3494159Freely accessible. PMID 22905360. Retrieved 2014-05-13.
  4. ↑ The Second Philly Lutaaya Memorial Lecture. Quality Chemicals Ltd. 29 October 2004. p. 8.
  5. ↑ Williams, Glen (January 1992). From Fear to Hope. AIDS care and Prevention at Chikankata Hospital, Zambia (Revised ed.). Strategies for Hope. p. 3. ISBN 1872502148.
  6. ↑ TASO (1995). Curriculum for HIV/AIDS Counselors (3rd ed.). TASO (U) Ltd. pp. ii.
  7. ↑ Noerine Kaleeba; Sunanda Ray (2012). We Miss You All (3rd ed.). Kampala. pp. 32, 33.
  8. ↑ Curriculum for HIV/AIDS (3rd ed.). TASO. 1995. pp. ii.
  9. ↑ Susan Kabarwani (2008). "HIV/AIDS in Uganda". Uganda Picks. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Sunanda Ray, Noerine Kaleeba (1991). We Miss You All. Zimbabwe: Women and AIDS Support Network (WASN). ISBN 0797410090.
  11. ↑ Sunanda Ray, Noerine Kaleeba (2012). We Miss You All. Zimbabwe: SAFAIDS. ISBN 079742525X.
  12. ↑ Ssebanja, Peter (2007). United Against AIDS. Oxford: Strategies for Hope Trust. ISBN 9781905746064.
  13. ↑ Elly T. Katabira; Moses R. Kamya; Francis X. Mubiru; Nathan N. Bakyaita (2000). HIV Infection. Diagnostic and treatment strategies for Health Care workers. Kampala: STD/AIDS Control Programme. Ministry of Health. p. 122.
  14. ↑ Noerine Kaleeba; Joyce Namulondo Kadowe; Daniel Kalinaki; Glen Williams. Glen Williams, ed. Open Secret. People facing up to HIV and AIDS in Uganda. Oxford: ActionAid. pp. 24, 25. ISBN 1872502555.
  15. ↑ Noerine Kaleeba; Sunanda Ray (2012). We Miss You All. SAFAIDS. p. 63. ISBN 079742525X.
  16. ↑ Glen Williams, ed. (2007). UNITED AGAINST AIDS: The Story of TASO. p. 31. ISBN 978-1-905746-06-4.
  17. ↑ "TASO Centers".
  18. ↑ TASO Uganda. The Inside Story. Participatory evaluation of HIV/AIDS counseling, medical and social services 1993 - 1994. TASO, WHO. 1993. p. viii. Retrieved October 2014. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  19. ↑ Elly T. Katabira; Moses R. Kamya; Francis X. Mubiru; Nathan N. Bakyaita (2000). HIV infection. Diagnostic and treatment Strategies for Health Care Workers (Second ed.). Kampala: STD/AIDS Control Programme. Ministry of Health. p. 164.
  20. ↑ USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS. US Agency for International Development. September 2003. p. 74.
  21. ↑ USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS (Third ed.). US Agency for International Development. September 2003. p. 75.
  22. ↑ Nakabugo, Goretti. "Gunning down new infections and scaling up HIV prevention. A case study of the Uganda Uniformed forces in collaboration with TASO Uganda.". RATN. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  23. ↑ "congratulations-taso-uganda-on-your-silver-jubilee".
  24. ↑ Sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents perinatally infected with HIV in Uganda. USAID, Ford Foundation, TASO, Population Council Frontiers. July 2008. p. 6.
  25. ↑ "The Transformer" (Magazine) (Special ed.). Kampala,Uganda: The Presidential Transformers Award 2006. 2006: 37.
  26. ↑ Rujumba J; et al. (24 May 2013). "Pregnant women's experiences of routine counseling and testing for HIV in Eastern Uganda: a qualitative study". BMC Health Services Research: 13.
  27. ↑ Birungi, Sandra. "TASO faces closure as it closes its outreach clinics". Uganda Picks. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  28. ↑ Carol Kasujja (28 August 2013). "TASO to offer more services". The New Vision. p. 3.
  29. ↑ Okoboi Stephen (2012). "Stigma hinders couples with HIV and AIDS in rural Uganda from accessing services" (PDF). Exchange. pp. 8, 9. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  30. ↑ Elly T. Katabira; Moses R. Kamya; Francis X. Mubiru; Nathan N. Bakyaita (2000). HIV Infection. Diagnostic and treatment strategies for Health Care Workers (Second ed.). Kampala: STD/AIDS Control Programme. Ministry of Health. pp. xiv.
  31. ↑ Bakanda, Celestin; Birungi, Josephine; Nkoyooyo, Abdallah; Featherstone, Amber; Cooper, Curtis L.; Hogg, Robert S.; Mills, Edward J. (2011-03-07). "Cohort Profile: The TASO-CAN Cohort Collaboration". International Journal of Epidemiology: dyr033. doi:10.1093/ije/dyr033. ISSN 0300-5771. PMID 21382975. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
  32. ↑ Ssebanja, Peter (2007). United Against AIDS. Oxford: Strategies for Hope Trust. ISBN 9781905746064.
  33. ↑ Okoboi, Stephen. "TASO Experiential Attachment to Combat HIV/AIDS (TEACH)" (PDF). HIV Capacity Forum. Retrieved 25 February 2014.

Further reading

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