Giramatsiko is a Community Based Organisation for and by rural women living with HIV (WLHIV) in Uganda, 490 in total to date. It was founded in 2002 and registered in 2003. The objectives of the organisation are to empower WLHIV with skills & knowledge for prevention, care, support and treatment for HIV, advocating for the rights of WLHIV and their families and empowering WLHIV with livelihood skills and expertise. They have established 19 Post Test Clubs in the district and carried out outreaches in two other districts. They encourage members to identify Income Generating Activities e.g. sell handcrafts, vegetables and piglets, and this enables them to keep their children in school and improve their quality of life.

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Successes

• Giramatsiko has to-date established 19 Post Test Clubs, which serve to educate and inform people living with HIV on disclosure, members within the support groups have served as treatment and adherence supporters - filling in a glaring gap of fewer, unmotivated health workers.
• A total of 84 WLHIV Peer Educators have been trained and they made 12,000 referrals for Voluntary Counselling & Testing, Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT), TB/HIV screening and treatment, STIs screening and treatment and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights including Family Planning and have been made out of which 514 were successfully started on ARVs.
• In partnership with Population Services International (PSI), Giramatsiko distributed 448 Basic Care packages that included bed nets for malaria control, safe water system, condoms and positive living leaflets.
• 48 Community mobilisation and sensitization sessions have been held, partnerships forged with Health facilities & FBOs for referral e.g. the Catholic Church has provided space for organisational offices.
• GIRAMATSIKO was the 2011 CORDAID HIV & AIDS award winner for "Linking communities to formal health and care services for people living with HIV.
• Since 2011 GIRAMATSIKO is implementing a PMTCT project and to-date, 15 pregnant WLHIV have been provided with mother kits (containing polythene bag, razorblade, gloves & cotton wool), 100 more have been secured using the grant money from CORDAID award and 33 pregnant WLHIV were referred & enrolled for PMTCT, 3 out of 5 children so far have been born & tested negative under Early Infant Diagnosis (EID) and to-date, 514 referrals for ARVs have been successfully made & started on ARVs.

Partnerships

• The district local government
• The National Agricultural Advisory Development Services (NAADS)
• The Katooma Catholic Church
• Integrated Community Based Initiative (ICOBI)
• Referral centres: Kabwohe Clinical Research Center (KCRC), Kigarama HC III, Kyangyenyi HC III, Mushanga dispensary and Kabwohe Health Centre IV
• The International Community of women living with HIV (ICW)
• The National Forum of people living with HIV in Uganda (NAFOPHANU)

Contact

E-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: +256771826489
Address: Katooma Catholic Church
Kabwohe
Sheema
Uganda