World AIDS Day

DECEMBER 3, 2021

This past Wednesday, World AIDS Day, we reflected on a pandemic that began to ravage the world 40 years ago. The virus has taken the lives of over 36 million people since it started.

The pandemic was felt deeply at Lacor Hospital. Lucille Teasdale, who ran the hospital alongside her husband Piero Corti, contracted the virus while working as a surgeon of war in Northern Uganda during the civil conflicts at the hands of the Lord's Resistance Army. She died in August of 1996.

Lacor Hospital has since set up a network of assistance and therapy for people with HIV. This commitment has led to excellent results in preventing and containing the spread of the disease. The latest available data tell us about 20,000 patients, including 150 children, have been treated in the HIV clinic directed by Dr. Emmanuel Ochola.

In the outpatient clinic, nurses offer comprehensive assistance ranging from health education, controlling the transmission of the virus, treating infections, and treatment with antiretroviral drugs.

Additionally, staff members at the hospital do patient outreach in the communities. They perform "test and treat" visits and distribute drugs in the villages.

**Dr. Emmanuel Ochola**
Head of the Department of HIV, Research and Documentation at Lacor Hospital.

"To date, there are nineteen communities where Lacor regularly visits," explains Dr. Ochola. "In addition, in an attempt to increasingly improve access to antiretroviral therapies and simplify the lives of our patients with HIV, various actions are being implemented. For example, drugs are given for three to six months of therapy".

Lacor mobile clinics go to the most remote villages; their operators educate people on prevention and the importance of testing. This service has continued throughout the Covid pandemic.

Your donations to Social Promise help ensure life-saving programs like these can continue for patients at little to no cost.

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