| ||
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Central Region
Introduction:
TASO in its strategic plan 2003 - 2007, adopted regionalisation strategy to provide support to the whole region of sixteen districts in the provision of quality HIV/AIDS services. Created under and reporting to the office of the Executive Director, the office attends to supervisory duties falling under the executive director's office. With a total number of nine staff, coordination, supervision and advocacy is carried out throughout the area of operation. In an effort to scale up services, Mini-TASOs and community-based organizations (CBOs) are given financial and technical support. Mini TASOs and CBOs are supported through collaboration with respective local districts. Mini TASOs provide services similar to those any directly run TASO service centre provides, but on a smaller scale. CBOs on the other hands are supported to provide services at the family and community levels.
The Central regional office became fully operational in March this year after the office was furnished and all the staff recruited. The office exists to provide overall leadership to TASO centres. To achieve this, regional offices are mandated to perform the following:
Functions of the Regional Office:
- To scale up TASO services.
- To provide support supervision to TASO centres (Mulago, Entebbe and Jinja).
- To carry out advocacy in the districts within the region.
- To co-ordinate TASO HIV/AIDS activities within the region.
- Identify the need for intervention, and establish, monitor, evaluate, support and supervise all TASO selected and or supported CBOs, NGOs, Districts and Mini-TASO's within the region.
- Implement, monitor, support, supervise and evaluate activities in the selected CBOs, NGOs, districts and mini-TASOs within the region.
- Oversee the training activities within the region.
- Promote collaboration, networking and advocacy in the field of HIV/AIDS among districts and government agencies, identified NGOs, CBOs within the region.
- Develop and nurture relationship with local donor agencies, key policy makers, partner agencies and other collaborations in the field of HIV/AIDS with the aim of influencing and or strengthening policy development in the line of HIV/AIDS in the region as well as protecting rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
- Ensure that regional programmes quality and priorities are met in accordance with approved regional strategies annual plans and budget and recommend necessary strategic operational changes.
- Develop, nurture, and support groups of people living with HIV/AIDS within the region.
- Attend, relevant meetings within and outside TASO that have issues of interest to TASO's operations within the region and the entire organization.
- Audit and evaluation of centres within the region.
- Collect, analyse and evaluate HIV/AIDS regional data for information and planning purposes (Operational research).
- Identify local donors for fundraising purposes
- Compile a profile of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support institutions within the region and recommend TASO's necessary intervention.
- Monitor staffing numbers and skills within the regional office and centres, and liaise with TASO Headquarters to bridge existing gaps through recruitment, training or development.
- Provide effective leadership to centres, and maintain good teamwork among them.
- Monitor expenditure against budgets to ensure adherence to set financial policies, and carry out other financial functions.
- To be involved in regional and centre staff recruitment.
- To be involved in regional and centre staff disciplinary issues.
To fulfil its mandate, the region has nine competent and dedicated staff that is supported by volunteers. The officers, four male and five females possess vast experience and expertise in their respective technical areas. With a highly committed and motivated staff, half of who are pursuing further studies, the region is set to grow from strength to strength. Arrangement are under way to strengthen the capacity of the office with additional staff to enable it realize its mission.
These include:
- Regional Manager
- Regional Trainer
- Research Assistant
- Assistant Accountant
- Secretary/Cashier
- Driver
- Volunteer Data Clerk
- Volunteer tea-girl
- Volunteer House Keeper
Mini TASOs and CBOs have been supported. The region plans to support additional institutions next year in pursuit of its mandate. The following institutions serving a population of over one million people have been supported.
Mini - TASOs:
- Kagadi Hospital in Kibaale District serves over 500,000 people and is a referral Hospital for the whole district.
- Kamuli Hospital in Kamuli District. This is a recently built Hospital with modern facilities. It serves a population from the district of Kamuli and neighboring districts of Jinja, Mukono, Kayunga and Iganga.
- Masindi Hospital (Masindi District) with a catchment area of four districts.
- Hope Sharing Family (HOSFA) in Mubende District.
- Kiwoko Hospital in Luwero District. Kiwoko and HOSFA serve mainly vulnerable population like the elderly, children and women.
- Kiboga Hospital in Kiboga District. Like most district Hospitals, Kiboga Hospital is the referral Hospital for the districts and serves a big number of the population. All the centres in the region are now in the ART programme.
The region organizes training to facilitate individual, institutions and government ministries as well as other countries to develop and enhance their capacity to provide HIV/AIDS services. This capacity building also applies to institutions under our collaboration. Districts have been supported to build their capacity mainly through training support. A number of the districts in the region have benefited through this arrangement. The office has run trainings for its entire staff in the branches to re-orient them to ART. It has participated and facilitated the recruitment of additional staff to boost the ART programme.
Research and Management Information System:
The regional office is a centre of research for the organization. The region has successfully implemented the one-year Rockefeller research funded project. To date, a database exists of stakeholders in the region. This inventory facilitates strategic planning and expansion, partnerships and collaboration. Research projects in the pipeline include;
The Knowledge, Attitudes, Behaviour and Practice of TASO clients in Anti Retroviral Treatment (ART). This study seeks to measure the levels of Knowledge of TASO clients on ART, Attitudes towards ART and establish their Practices in ART. The longitudinal study will interview 600 old and recent TASO clients using quantitative and qualitative methodology. The purpose of the study is to provide baseline data for the ART intervention.
Stigmatization, denial and Discrimination of HIV positive people in the workplace. This study is premised on allegations that TASO clients are discriminated against in the workplace because of their HIV/AIDS status. The study aims to establish the extent to which these allegations are true and the extent to which dismissal is related to HIV status. 396 TASO clients will be interviewed in sampled TASO branches. The findings are intended to provide the basis for TASO advocacy programmes.
The organization is carrying out a collaborative study between TASO, Medical Research Council, and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at its Jinja service centre. This study seeks to establish a cost effective approach to the delivery of ART in a resource-limited setting. Accordingly, 800 clients will be enrolled in ART and served depending on their convenience in either the Facility based or Home based delivery systems. The study will establish which approach is cost effective with maximum benefits of adherence so that the finding can be used to model interventions elsewhere in Africa and beyond.
Support to Taso Centres:
The regional office has the mandate of providing overall leadership to centres within its area of jurisdiction. Accordingly, TASO centres are given prompt technical support on a regular quarterly basis. This has enhanced the delivery of quality services tremendously. TASO Centres provide the following Services:
- Counselling
- Medical care
- Social support
- Training
- Material assistance
- Advocacy and mobilisation
In the coming year, more collaboration is scheduled. Already an assessment for the establishment of one directly managed TASO service centre in the Mid Western region of the country has been completed. Arrangements are in a high gear to start the centre early next year. Using the MIS, collaboration with more stakeholders is planned.
Application Form for a course
© Copyright 2003. The AIDS Support Organisation |
