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Sponsor A Mother & Child
The Gift of Hope and Witkoppen are pleased to announce an important new initiative to Sponsor A Mother & Child for their annual HIV care. This program, effective January 1, 2017, is designed to ensure that the most vulnerable women and children do not drop out of care and risk defaulting on their HIV medication, due to their inability to cover increased patient fees. For just $180 a year, less than .50 cents a day, your sponsorship will provide a holistic package of medical care, life-saving treatment and psycho-social support for an HIV positive mother and child, ensuring hope and health for their future.
 Become a sponsor and be a hero to a mother and child in need, like Lerato and Nyiko. Click here to read their story of hope.
The Need
Witkoppen serves some of the most impoverished communities in Johannesburg, putting them at great risk for health problems. Even when faced with modest patient fees, such as those charged at Witkoppen, many who need care cannot afford it and simply go without. This is a particularly serious challenge for an HIV positive mother and child, whose access to high quality, comprehensive pediatric HIV care and treatment is essential to assuring a healthy future. It is critically important that young children get tested and onto treatment at the earliest possible point in time, as HIV progresses far more rapidly in babies than adults. In fact, without treatment, 1/3 of all HIV positive babies will die by their first birthday, and ½ will die by the age of two. But with care, treatment and support, they can grow up to be vibrant, happy and healthy adults, where HIV is treated like any other manageable chronic illness.
 A significant number of Witkoppen’s patients are unable to afford the recent increase in patient fees. Many of our moms are single parents, unemployed, and from countries outside of South Africa, and receive no government support. And for those who are South African and lucky enough to qualify for a child care grant, it provides less than $20 a month, barely enough to put food on the table. In addition to living with HIV and the myriad of challenges that poses, many of our moms and children are food insecure or simply lack the funds to cover their monthly transportation fee to the clinic. Without sponsorship to cover their clinic fees, they are at enormous risk of dropping out of care, discontinuing their HIV medication, and suffering from serious health consequences, including potentially the risk of death.
The Response
We are excited to offer donors the opportunity to be a hero to a mother and child in need! For $180 a year, your sponsorship will provide the following package of holistic and comprehensive HIV care for a mother and her child:
- Monthly consultation with a dedicated pediatric HIV physician and nurse.
- Monthly visit with a pediatric HIV counselor
- All ARVs and any other required medications for both mother and child
- All blood tests and childhood immunizations
- Visits with a dietician, social worker and psychologist, as needed
- Transportation fees to the clinic, as needed
- Emergency food parcels
Click here to Sponsor A Mother & Child and give them hope for a healthy future
"Of all the forces that make for a better world, none is so indispensable,
none so powerful, as hope."
— Charles W. Sawyer |
