The AIDS Support Organization
Formation1987
FounderNoerine Kaleeba
TypeNon-governmental organization
PurposeHumanitarian
HeadquartersUganda
Websitetasouganda.org

The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is an indigenous HIV and AIDS service initiative, registered in Uganda as a non-governmental organisation. It is a pioneer non-public actor in the HIV and AIDS response in Uganda. TASO is a membership organisation with over 4,000 subscriber members.[1]

Overview

TASO was started in 1987 by a group of medical workers who had witnessed how badly patients showing signs of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were being treated in the wards of the Mulago Hospital in Kampala. At first, it was a small, informal group of people meeting to talk about HIV and AIDS[2]: page 33  and grow into an organisation. It became one of the major HIV and AIDS care organisations in Uganda.[3][4] When TASO started, Uganda was recovering from a war that brought the current government to power.[5]

TASO was founded to provide comfort to patients who were being discriminated against and sometimes abandoned by relatives to die within the hospital compound.[6]: page ii [2]: pages 32–33  As the number of people coming for comfort to this small group grew, counseling became a necessary service to keep those seeking comfort.[6]: page ii  By 2008, TASO had grown into one of the largest indigenous HIV and AIDS services organisation in Uganda.[7]

After Christopher Kaleeba, a radiographer, tested positive for HIV and suffered stigma and discrimination by his co-workers in Mulago Hospital, he suggested to his wife (Noerine Kaleeba) and her friends that a support group be formed to encourage those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS within the hospital.[2]

A small group, composed of health workers and some patients, were allocated a room in the Polio Clinic at Mulago Hospital where they began offering clinical out-patient services run by Elly Katabira as an AIDS Clinic.[8]: page 122 

In 1989, TASO hosted Philly Lutaaya, a well-known musician, AIDS activist, and the first prominent person to put a human face to AIDS in Uganda. His song Alone was adopted as an anthem in TASO as well as many other AIDS groups in Uganda and many other countries.[9][2]: page 63  Following the example of Philly Lutaaya, clients who were gifted in music, dance and drama began performing in local communities to sensitize them on HIV and AIDS.[10]: page 31  The use of music, dance and drama was replicated in all the TASO Centers and became a major tool for crowd mobilisation and community sensitisation.[11] At the end of 1993, TASO had expanded from one district to seven districts in Uganda.[12]

Partnerships

Together with another organisation called Traditional and modern Health practitioners Together Against AIDS (THETA), TASO pioneered collaboration with traditional healers in 1992 to give them basic counseling skills as well as knowledge about HIV infection.[8]: page 164 

From October 1999 until 2007, TASO partnered with the National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS to run the Child Survival Project. The project cost $1,000,000 and assisted 435 children to improve their literacy skills and to acquire the skills that are essential for survival.[13]: page 74  From October 2000 until 2007, TASO implemented the Vocational Apprenticeships for Vulnerable Children. It cost $926,355, with 832 children benefited through apprenticeship training.[13]: page 75 

From 2004 until 2006, TASO partnered with the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda to implement the Partners for Food Security Project. Through this partnership, both organisations were able to address issues pertaining to food insecurity within households in rural Uganda, especially in the district of Tororo. TASO also has partnered with the uniformed forces.[14]

TASO's Strategic Plan for 2013-2017 called for more funding (both local and international) for HIV related services in Uganda. TASO collaborated with the World Food Program to provide food to its clients. TASO also recognised that clients need a source of livelihood and, therefore, partnered with the Poultry Project to provide chicken to families as well as other animals such as pigs as income generating activities.[15]

Services

Medical

  • Family planning[16]
  • Home care services[17]
  • HIV counseling
    • Home based HIV counseling and testing
    • Pre- and post-test counseling[18]
  • Capacity development
    • TASO's outreach clinics were phased out in 2011 after funding from USAID decreased.[19]
    • In 2013, TASO rolled out services in the treatment and diagnosis of other opportunistic infections such as cervical cancer and tuberculosis. In the same year, TASO expanded its services to include male circumcision.[20]
  • Adolescent services
  • Youth-friendly services
  • HIV prevention
    • TASO has supported efforts to fight stigma among couples to increase use of HIV-related services in Uganda.[21]
  • Food and nutrition component
  • Research
    • TASO has been involved in several community programmes as well as HIV-related clinical studies and drug trials.[8]: page xiv 
    • TASO has partnered with the University of Ottawa on a study on microfinance, clinical trials, and the income of HIV+ clients in Africa.[22]
  • Research publications
    • Good Adherence to HAART and improved survival in a community HIV/AIDS treatment and care programme: the experience of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Kampala, Uganda. Published 20 November 2008 by BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:241. doi:10 1186/1472-6963/8/241. Abaasa M. Andrew et al.
    • Reliability of scored patient generated subjective global assessment for nutritional status among HIV infected adults in TASO, Kampala. Published 2011 by African Health Sciences 2011; 11(S1): S86 - S92.

TASO Centers

TASO has established twelve centers across the country.[10]

  1. Mulago (established November 1987)
  2. Masaka (established May 1988)
  3. TASO Training Center (established October 1988)
  4. Tororo (established November 1988)
  5. Mbarara (established January 1989)
  6. Mbale (established March 1990)
  7. Jinja (established March 1991)
  8. Entebbe (established November 1991)
  9. Gulu (established January 2004)
  10. Rukungiri (established August 2004)
  11. Soroti (established August 2004)
  12. Masindi (established August 2005)

Projects

Active

  • Grants Management Unit
  • SCALAP - Karamoja

Ended

  • TEACH - (Started in 2005, to support AIDS Service Organisations in Sub Saharan Africa to build their capacity in offering HIV related services.)[23]
  • SCOT
  • REACH U
  • PrEP
  • SUSTAIN
  • Nu-Hites

References

  1. ↑ Matovu, Sylvia. "The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO)". www.tasouganda.org. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Noerine Kaleeba; Sunanda Ray. We Miss You All (3rd ed.). SAFAIDS.
  3. ↑ Rujumba, Joseph; Neema, S.; Byamugisha, R.; Tylleskär, T.; Tumwine, J. K.; Heggenhougen, H. K. (2012). ""Telling my husband I have HIV is too heavy to come out of my mouth". pregnant women's disclosure experiences and support needs following antenatal HIV testing in Eastern Uganda". Journal of the International AIDS Society. 15 (2): 17429. doi:10.7448/ias.15.2.17429. PMC 3494159. PMID 22905360. Retrieved 13 May 2014.
  4. ↑ The Second Philly Lutaaya Memorial Lecture. Quality Chemicals Ltd. 29 October 2004. p. 8.
  5. ↑ Williams, Glen (January 1992). From Fear to Hope. AIDS care and Prevention at Chikankata Hospital, Zambia (Revised ed.). Strategies for Hope. p. 3. ISBN 1872502148.
  6. 1 2 TASO (1995). Curriculum for HIV/AIDS Counselors (3rd ed.). TASO (U) Ltd.
  7. ↑ Susan Kabarwani (2008). "HIV/AIDS in Uganda". Uganda Picks. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  8. 1 2 3 Elly T. Katabira; Moses R. Kamya; Francis X. Mubiru; Nathan N. Bakyaita (2000). HIV Infection. Diagnostic and treatment strategies for Health Care workers. Kampala: STD/AIDS Control Programme. Ministry of Health.
  9. ↑ Noerine Kaleeba; Joyce Namulondo Kadowe; Daniel Kalinaki; Glen Williams (2000). Glen Williams (ed.). Open Secret. People facing up to HIV and AIDS in Uganda. Oxford: ActionAid. pp. 24–25. ISBN 1872502555.
  10. 1 2 Glen Williams, ed. (2007). UNITED AGAINST AIDS: The Story of TASO. ISBN 978-1-905746-06-4.
  11. ↑ "TASO Centers". YouTube.
  12. ↑ TASO Uganda. The Inside Story. Participatory evaluation of HIV/AIDS counseling, medical and social services 1993-1994. TASO, WHO. 1995. p. viii. hdl:10665/61142. Countless organisations and programmes have already been inspired by the effective model offered by TASO. Dr. M.H. Merson. Executive Director. WHO Global Programme on AIDS
  13. 1 2 USAID Project Profiles: Children Affected by HIV/AIDS. US Agency for International Development. September 2003.
  14. ↑ Nakabugo, Goretti (8 April 2013). "Gunning down new infections and scaling up HIV prevention. A case study of the Uganda Uniformed forces in collaboration with TASO Uganda". RATN. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  15. ↑ "congratulations-taso-uganda-on-your-silver-jubilee". Archived from the original on 2014-03-10.
  16. ↑ Birungi, Harriet; Mugisha, John Frank; Nyombi, Juliana; Obare, Francis; Evelia, Humphres; Nyinkavu, Hannington (July 2008). Sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescents perinatally infected with HIV in Uganda (PDF). United States Agency for International Development; Ford Foundation; The AIDS Support Organisation; Frontiers in Reproductive Health, Population Council. p. 6.
  17. ↑ "The Transformer" (Magazine) (Special ed.). Kampala, Uganda: The Presidential Transformers Award 2006. 2006. p. 37. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  18. ↑ Rujumba J.; et al. (24 May 2013). "Pregnant women's experiences of routine counseling and testing for HIV in Eastern Uganda: a qualitative study". BMC Health Services Research: 13.
  19. ↑ Birungi, Sandra. "TASO faces closure as it closes its outreach clinics". Uganda Picks. Archived from the original on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Carol Kasujja (28 August 2013). "TASO to offer more services". The New Vision. p. 3.
  21. ↑ Okoboi Stephen (2012). "Stigma hinders couples with HIV and AIDS in rural Uganda from accessing services" (PDF). Exchange. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 26 February 2014.
  22. ↑ Bakanda, Celestin; Birungi, Josephine; Nkoyooyo, Abdallah; Featherstone, Amber; Cooper, Curtis L.; Hogg, Robert S.; Mills, Edward J. (7 March 2011). "Cohort Profile: The TASO-CAN Cohort Collaboration". International Journal of Epidemiology. 41 (4): 946–950. doi:10.1093/ije/dyr033. ISSN 0300-5771. PMID 21382975. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  23. ↑ Okoboi, Stephen. "TASO Experiential Attachment to Combat HIV/AIDS (TEACH)" (PDF). HIV Capacity Forum. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 January 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2014.

Further reading

  • Weeks, Benjamin (2009). AIDS: The Biological Basis (5th ed.). Malloy Inc. ISBN 978-0-7637-6324-4. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  • Facts about HIV infection and disease. Kampala: TASO Uganda. 1995.
  • Janie Hampton (1991). Living Positively with AIDS (Revised ed.). ActionAid. ISBN 187250213X.
  • Living with AIDS in the Community. A book to help people make the best of Life. World Health Organization. 1991. hdl:10665/58366.
  • Katherine Coon; Jessica Ogden; John Odolon; Anthony Obudi-Owor; Charles Otim; James Byakigga; Peter Ssebbanja (2007). Transcending Boundaries to improve the food security of HIV - affected households in Rural Uganda: A Case Study. Population Council.
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