By Dr. Pasquine N. Ogunsanya | Executive Director and Founder
Since its establishment in 2007, AMS has seen an incredible growth and impact. The organization has grown from merely 6 patients to over 13,000 HIV-positive individuals who we serve daily with love and dignity. My motivation for starting was the HIV-positive family and community members who I witnessed being ostracized and feared. Though I began alone, conducting everything from medical care to monitoring and evaluation, I never thought that AMS would grow into a movement so powerful and supported by those like you.
The impact that we make was not fathomable a decade ago in AMS’s infancy. In just the last three months, we treated 7,403 clients during this time and placed 234 on antiretroviral therapy. Also, 45 babies were discharged due to HIV-negative status and 158 children were immunized. These clients are local as well as international, crossing borders to access our services. “That’s what I love about AMS,” says Dr. Liz, the AMS Clinic Manager, “If I want to give a patient medicines, I can. If I want to get a patient tested, we can also do that here. This is a one-stop shop for HIV care, clients from near and far who we serve indiscriminately.”
To continue advocating for our service model around the world, we have engaged with leaders in the field. In May, I spoke at the Women Deliver Conference 2016 about the effects of HIV/AIDS and poverty on women and girls, a topic that AMS prioritizes. In July I attended the 2016 International AIDS Conference where I submitted two abstracts while exchanging ideas with other HIV/AIDS global leaders. AMS’s voice is also heard nationally by strategizing and streamlining Uganda’s adoption of new WHO global HIV care standards. AMS was invited to participate due to our community-based approach of HIV care, an approach that WHO suggested as crucial for effective HIV care. We are thankful for this ongoing, important advocacy for our comprehensive, community-based, free model of care nationwide.
We have additionally advanced our movement by partnering with Global Health Corps (GHC) after a rigorous vetting process. In July, GHC provided AMS with some of the world’s most ambitious global health leaders, Bekhie and Nilusha. Bekhie is our new Communications Officer and Nilusha is AMS’s new Partnership Development Officer. Over the next year, they will help us amplify our collective voice to garner support for our cause.
We would not have been able to achieve these milestones without the amazing support that we have received over the years. With only about $12,000 away from our $99,000 goal, we are immeasurably thankful for the generous GlobalGiving support that sustains our life-saving work. Our hope for the future is that with GlobalGiving and you by our side, we continue to advance the notion that love and dignity conquers all, including AIDS and extreme poverty.
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