One dream, many hands

In Kenya, between 5-15% of the adult population is living with HIV/AIDS.

Dr. Eunice Kamaara, associate professor of philosophy and religious studies at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya, and an international affiliate of Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis presented her talk, "Traditional/Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Managing HIV/AIDS in Western Kenya", sharing information and wisdom about medicine and treating patients in Kenya.

Kamaara focused much of her presentation on the need for Traditional Healers to work in collaboration with Bio-medical Doctors. By strengthening a partnership between these two approaches to patient care, the use of traditional therapies could help reduce the improper use of Anti-Retroviral medications and provide palliative care to patients.

In order to build this partnership, Bio-medical doctors must understand the practices of Traditional Healers. They must develop knowledge of the herbs and nutritional support recommended as well as developing a holistic understanding of their patients. There is wisdom to the practices of Traditional Healers and by being culturally sensitive, Bio-medical doctors can provide patients with a multidisciplinary treatment plan that will ultimately be more effective because they are working together rather than having a patient vacillating between a Traditional Healer and a Bio-medical doctor.

The research is being conducted in an ethical manner as part of a larger organization known as AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare).

AMPATH is an 18 year old partnership between Indiana University School of Medicine and Moi University School of Medicine aimed at developing leaders in health care for both the U.S. and Africa. AMPATH was created in the face of the deadliest pandemic in human history, and is now one of Africa's largest, most comprehensive and effective HIV/AIDS control systems treating over 70,000 HIV-positive patients at 18 sites in both urban and rural Kenya.

AMPATH offers a holistic approach to their patients providing clinical care and administration of Anti-Retroviral medications, nutritional support (AMPATH farm), psycho-social counseling and social care services, economic support as in the Imani Workshops. The goal is to treat the whole person and provide tools toward self sustainability.

For more information about AMPATH and their programs visit www.medicine.iupui.edu/kenya/. Ending her talk with a call for partnership, Kamaara also promoted the goods for sale by Imani Workshop, which is a revenue generating social enterprise that focuses on quality crafts by HIV positive artisans. For more information or to purchase items visit their website, www.imaniworkshops.org.

Other Services AMPATH provides:

• Protects babies by blocking mother-to-child transmission of HIV at birth. • Prevents HIV/AIDS through outreach to encourage safe practices, prevent the spread of the disease, and confront the deadly effects of HIV/AIDS stigma.

• Goes door-to-door throughout western Kenya testing for HIV, screening for tuberculosis and delivering treated bed nets to prevent malaria.

• Fights hunger through providing food security programs. With high-production farms and demonstration farms, they provide food assistance to up to 30,000 people per month.

• Builds self-sufficiency through offering income security programs including skills training, micro-financing, a fair-trade-certified crafts workshop and an agricultural co-operative.

• Helps orphans and vulnerable children by providing school fees, clothing and food to thousands of Kenyan children orphaned by AIDS.

• Building the capacity to care for mothers and babies, treat cancer patients, perform surgeries and insure safe water for the areas we serve.

• Continuing focus on training the next generation of leaders.