Angola – The DREAM Program is starting to grow in the coutry
In March, a DREAM mission returned to Angola to both visit the DREAM Center of Cubal which has been active since 2006 and managed by the Teresiane Sisters.
The prevention activity in Cubal is going ahead successfully. Patients are attentively cared for, thanks to the commitment of all the medical personnel and the precious contribution made by the people undergoing treatment.
Despite the fear of stigma, home based care has increased and there is more faith in the possibility of being cured by the therapy. This is demonstrated by the increase in the number of people in the Cubal area who come to the hospital to be tested for HIV.
Furthermore, several female religious congregations are interested in replicating the DREAM model in Luanda and the northern part of the country.
They are particularly interested in the application of the protocol used by DREAM for the prevention of the transmission of HIV from mother to child.
This aspect is of great importance for DREAM as we continue to work towards our goal of increasing the number of HIV negative children born in Africa. 10000 healthy babies have already been born within the DREAM Program in Africa!
It is estimated that 4% of the population of Angola is HIV positive. This is not a high percentage. Immediate intervention would be crucial in stopping the further spreading of this disease and would mean a new generation of healthy babies, without AIDS.
Angola is rapidly changing. The enormous skyscrapers in Luanda, the explosion of cars, brand new roads are all symbols and elements of the new challenge: the management of their incredible resources.
How will Africa grow? How will progress be directed? Africa is no longer the same as before. Next to the skyscrapers, mountains of refuse continue to grow, providing the perfect conditions for the spread of disease and cholera. The terrible living conditions found within the shacks make up a significant part of life in Luanda. Urban scenery made up of poverty and confusion.
So let us offer this new Africa a model of sensitive presence, of total respect for the value of human life, the health of each citizen as a primary right, above all others.
This is the challenge that DREAM has felt for years. Beginning with the sick and the very last of the sick, we can restore humanity to entire health frameworks and through this, to all of a society.