The DREAM Centre at Kubwa, Nigeria

by Sr. Geraldine Henry DC

The DREAM project (Drug Resource Enhancement against Aids and Malnutrition) brings hope to people living with HIV/AIDS. Here, Sr Geraldine Henry, the DC Project Co-ordinator, outlines this work, especially in the context of the DREAM Centre in Kubwa, Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria.
The DREAM Centre (Drug Resource Enhancement against Aids and Malnutrition) in Kubwa Abuja FCT is the first of its kind in Nigeria and offers free services for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The community of Sant’Egidio initiated this model to fight the spread of AIDS in Mozambique. It guarantees free access to diagnosis and treatment and uses a holistic approach, which not only focuses on HIV/AIDS but also on other factors such as malnutrition.
In June 2006 the Daughters of Charity and the community of St ’Egidio, in collaboration with CRS/AIDS Relief, using the DREAM model, commenced services for people with HIV/AIDS at St. Vincent’s Health Services Kubwa, Abuja.

Currently over 1,400 people are receiving services in Kubwa. It is envisaged that the programme will be replicated in the other Daughters of Charity health services throughout Nigeria in the very near future.
The chief components of the DREAM model are:
• Voluntary Counselling and Testing  •
Training of local staff (doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians, health workers, training staff, etc.)•
Health education (maternity and childcare centres, youth and other vulnerable groups) •
Prevention of mother to child transmission during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.•
Anti-retroviral therapy for those infected with the HIV virus.•
Creation of molecular biology laboratories to diagnose and monitor response to treatment.•
Monitoring of blood donations.•
Prevention and care of the diseases linked to Aids (opportunistic infections, sexually-transmitted diseases).•
Nutritional support for people living with HIV/Aids.•
Home-based care for the seriously ill.

The following are Testimonies of two patients attending the DREAM Centre in Kubwa.

Theresa’s Story
“Before I tested positive for HIV I was living in Benue State. I came to Abuja to visit my mother and I complained to her that I was having pains and headaches, so I decided to come to the Daughters of Charity and do some tests. When I tested positive for HIV I thought ‘thank God that I now know what is wrong with me.’ When I returned to Benue State I told my husband that he too needed to take the test. At first he refused, but after some time he agreed and the results showed that he was also HIV positive. I returned to Abuja because I knew that I could get free treatment at the Daughters of Charity and that if I took care of myself then I could stay healthy and stay alive. Before I knew that HIV was killing people and I was afraid, but now I thank God that it can be treated.
I no longer feel weak or have headaches. Instead I feel strong again. I would advise people to take the test and know their status, because you can’t tell from looking at a person whether they are infected. Even before I knew I was positive I did not feel afraid because I knew other people who were positive and who were receiving free treatment and feeling well.
I feel happy now. So happy. People who are HIV positive are human and that is why we need to show love and care towards one another.”

Amina’s Testimony
“I was tested for HIV in 2004 because I was feeling seriously sick. I had lost so much weight that I decided to take the test. When the result showed that I was positive I shouted and shouted. I felt so bad. My CD4 count read only 5 and even the nurses thought that I would die. I was told that I needed to start anti-retroviral treatment straight away, which cost N6,000 a month.
After 6 months of taking the treatment my sister lost her job and I could no longer afford to pay for them. Instead I went to church and prayed but soon I began to develop rashes on my body and was admitted to hospital. I knew that I needed to take treatment but I just could not afford it. Then somebody told me that I could get the treatment for free at the Daughters of Charity Clinic at Kubwa. and I felt so much better in myself just for knowing that.

In my mind I knew that I was not the only person living with HIV and I started to attend the support group at the Daughters of Charity and meet other positive people like myself. I started to feel happy again. Now I know that I can live for a long time and that I am not going to die.
Now I visit people in villages and tell them: ‘Yes I am HIV positive, but look at me, I am well.’ I know that I am not the first person to contract HIV and I won’t be the last, but when people ask me I say to them that HIV does not mean the end of life anymore.”

Conclusion
HIV/AIDS is not only a medical problem and many of the people who are infected have associated social problems, including poor housing, malnutrition and unemployment. These present a big challenge as there are no social services in the country and if a person is sick and unemployed there is not other source of income for the family except through charity. We often have to provide money to help bury a patient who has died in the hospital. The nutrition element of the DREAM programme is cost intensive as a person who is malnourished cannot tolerate the Anti Retroviral Drugs. The funds for the supply of nutritious food elements have to be sourced through fund raising activities.
The DREAM programme has brought great hope and life to many people in Kubwa and hopefully within the next year this will be also experienced by many other people throughout Nigeria.