Accordia Voices

IDI Doctor Named Representative of the International AIDS Society's Governing Council

Dr. Alex M. Muganzi has helped countless numbers of patients in his career, but one in particular stands out.

“There was one woman at the clinic who was in a coma for three months. She was on the brink of death. And now, from a combination of the medicine and support that she got at IDI, she walks to the clinic every day to receive her drugs.”

It is cases like this one that inspire Dr. Muganzi to work tirelessly everyday to help people living with the HIV virus. And his hard work has not gone unrecognized. Just last month, Dr. Muganzi was named as a Representative for the Africa Region on the International AIDS Society’s (IAS) Governing Council, a collection of leading HIV professionals from around the world.
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» Posted by admin at 9:45 AM on 6/29/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email

IDI Friends Council

Having grown up in Washington, D.C., and having just worked in the world of American politics for the last two years, I confess to being a bit jaded regarding the possibility of true cooperation and political representation.

While many work in the business of politics to enact reforms that they believe will help the American people, others are motivated by avarice, prestige, and power. These days, constructive dialogue and compromise are rarities in Washington, D.C.

Contrast the situation that I left with the one I found myself in today, sitting in a meeting of the Friends Council at the Infectious Disease Institute in Kampala. The Council is made up of 11 members, five from IDI and six from other clinics around Kampala. They are elected by their peers to serve 18-month terms on the board.
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» Posted by admin at 9:51 AM on 6/29/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email

Plastic Water Bottles

I spent time in the Kiboga District this week, touring the local health facilities supported by IDI in the district with two colleagues, Angelina and Medard, and a documentary film crew as they filmed newly constructed buildings and interviewed the staff at each location. Having recently arrived in Uganda, it was my first trip outside of Kampala. While the local children might have had fun observing me, I most certainly learned far more from them.

At our first stop, we met Veronicah, a young medical worker, who explained some of the challenges she faces trying to help people living with HIV in rural areas. The ratio of patients to medical staff is extraordinarily high, and the supply of drugs too low. However, she beamed when discussing the new building recently built by IDI, which allows Veronicah and her colleagues to treat far more patients in an orderly and secure environment.
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» Posted by admin at 10:58 AM on 6/30/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email

Song and Dance

The HIV/AIDS virus is much more than just a physically debilitating disease.

I do not mean to understate the tole it takes on the human body. You can see the damage as you walk through the IDI clinic; patients are weak and vulnerable, their bodies brittle and their immune systems frail.

But HIV/AIDS also weakens the mind and the heart. A positive diagnosis can lead to depression. It can end one's motivation to work, to learn, to provide for a family, and most of all, to just keep going. When all you can think about is getting sick, you get sicker.

Or, it can have the opposite effect. It can motivate you to overcome your diagnosis, rise above it, and teach others to do the same.
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» Posted by admin at 7:54 AM on 7/6/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email

Greater Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS

Officially, three people make up the Greater Involvement of People Living with AIDS (GIPA) team at IDI: Caleb Twijukye, Benson Bahame, and Charles Kasumba. 

But the GIPA team takes a much more inclusive approach, as Caleb, Benson, and Charles include peer counselors, and the many Friends that visit the Resource Center, as integral parts of the team.  This philosophy of inclusivity is part of a growing understanding that everyone, including Friends themselves, has a role in the care and counseling of people living with HIV/AIDS. 

Caleb, Benson, and Charles know that when trying to impart advice on treatment or making healthy life choices to Friends, the most effective message comes from a peer, someone who understands the situation and can offer relevant advice.

“If someone has been living with the virus for many years, it’s for more powerful for them to provide care and advice to a fellow Friend,” Charles said.

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» Posted by admin at 8:22 AM on 7/7/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email

The Bombings in Kampala

I'm not sure what I am supposed to feel.

Last night, three bombs went off at popular bars in Kampala. The attacks killed at least 65 people, including one American.

My roommate Peace, a lovely Ugandan woman who is in graduate school at the University of Washington, was at the Rugby club, a big outdoor space where hundreds gathered to watch the World Cup final. At halftime, I was about to leave the crowded bar where I was to go meet her, when I received a text message.

"Two bombs have gone off, get out of bars."

The rest of the night is a blur. As information trickled in and rumors swirled, I was left feeling a weird combination of lucky and helpless. No one knew what was going on, and we all relied on whispers.

I could have been in that bar. I could have died.

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» Posted by admin at 8:27 AM on 7/14/2010 | 0 Comments Send link via email