Research4Life Helps Charity Improve Lives of HIV-Infected Orphans in Zambia
- 11 years ago
In 2003, a woman with AIDS, seven months pregnant and living in a bus terminal in the Zambian capital of Lusaka, was found by nuns and brought to a shelter. After delivering the baby, physician Tim Meade and a team of volunteers looked after the child. Unable to care for her newborn son, the mother turned to Dr Tim. As a sign of gratitude, she named the boy Tim. Thus was germinated the idea for Tiny Tim & Friends (TT&F), an organization that specializes in paediatric HIV/AIDS clinical care.
HIV/AIDS takes an enormous toll on Zambia. In Lusaka, around one quarter of the adult population are infected and there are tens of thousands of AIDS-related deaths each year. Mother-to-child transmission is a major route of infection, with more than 14 000 children infected nationally in 2010, out of 80 000 newborns exposed. Tragically, the country is also home to a million AIDS orphans. TT&F screens orphans for HIV in vulnerable communities surrounding Lusaka and provides anti-retroviral drugs,
HIV/AIDS takes an enormous toll on Zambia. In Lusaka, around one quarter of the adult population are infected and there are tens of thousands of AIDS-related deaths each year. Mother-to-child transmission is a major route of infection, with more than 14 000 children infected nationally in 2010, out of 80 000 newborns exposed. Tragically, the country is also home to a million AIDS orphans. TT&F screens orphans for HIV in vulnerable communities surrounding Lusaka and provides anti-retroviral drugs,