Therapy and laboratory monitoring: essential resources for the care of AIDS patients
The support of CRS to the DREAM program in Guinea.
As we all know for some time now, the only effective way to fight the AIDS epidemic, also in Africa, is through an early diagnosis of the infection in adults and most of all in children, adequate screening tests and therefore the administration of efficient drugs, the so-called HAART (a cocktail of three type of drugs of undisputed efficacy), following the patient with several laboratory tests, in particular the count of the T-C4 lymphocytes and the dosage of the viral load. This and much more is the approach of the DREAM program also in Guinea, where DREAM is present and active since 2006 and treats approximately 3.500 patients, 1000 of which are children.
Thanks to the vertical prevention program, also in Guinea more than 650 children from HIV positive mothers were born healthy. Despite the numerous problems, political instability, economic hardship, even more so, DREAM has wanted to continue to strengthen its presence in the Country, but, in order to be able to do so, it was necessary a call for donors and supporters wishing to sustain DREAM by supporting the financial efforts.
Thanks to the support of the Catholic Relief Service (CRS), DREAM has been able to guarantee the continuity of the therapy and the laboratory diagnosis to approximately 400 patients.
D.R.E.A.M. is a dream which becomes true thanks to the cooperation and the joint efforts of many, people of good will, who have never ceased to believe in the value of compassion, in the support to the families and to the sick, to win over the disease and to give hope.