The power of Grace Foundation under the Healthcare agenda focuses on developing children and Families health-related programs providing, leading Innovations to ensure that children and their families, young men and women have access to primary care, Fitness, disease prevention, and control maternity issues to ensure Family well-being, Safety and Security.
HIV CAMPAIGN-CaTTeM
What Is HIV, What is AIDS?
HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, the virus that causes the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, or AIDS, if the person infected does not get any treatment. Once infected, the human body can’t get rid of HIV completely, even with treatment. Once you get HIV, you have it for life.
AIDS happens when your body fails to fight or responds appropriately to the medications. People with AIDS have such badly damaged immune systems that they get an increasing number of severe illnesses called opportunistic infections.
Can HIV be treated?
Yes, HIV can be treated, though there is no cure, with appropriate medical care, HIV can be controlled. If taken as recommended daily, antiviralscan dramatically prolong the lives of many people infected with HIV, keep them healthy, and lower their chance of infecting others.
What are the stages of HIV
1. Acute Stage- 2-4 weeks after exposure to the virus
2. Clinical Latent Stage
3. AIDS- This is the stage of HIV infection that occurs when your immune system is badly damaged, and you become vulnerable to opportunistic infections
How is HIV transmitted?
– Unprotected sex with and positive HIV person,
– Sharing needles or syringes
– From mother to baby
– There are others sources of transmission, that are rare
In collaboration with AFASO foundation in Cameroon, we work to:
Create awareness through workshop and small health fairs due to which pamphlets, educational material about HIV are distributed
Educateusing demonstration of the disease process in the body,
support provision of free HIV screening in most screening centers in Yaounde- Cameroon
Advised on the importance of treatment for positive cases, lifestyle life with HIV virus.
Workshops
(1) promote safe sex through distribution of free condoms,counseling one-partner relationship, and encouraging young women and men to engage in mutual HIV and other Sexually transmitted diseases testing prior to becoming intimate
(2) Provide means of treatment to infected HIV patients and their families
(3) Provide basic needs (food, clothes and shelter) to these patients
(4) Reelevate and eradicate the stigma Teaching affected population
(5) Provide opportunity to rejected HIV infected women, children and young men to regain their self-confidence through empowerment and community involvement
(6) Empower infected and affected families to become active and equip them with tools to reintegrate their communities through vocational trainings.
HIV- NUMBERS-IMPACT IN CAMEROON
Reported by the CDC
HEPATITIS CAMPAIGN
This program focused on education, preventing and treatment of liver diseases caused by the hepatitis virus among African, African immigrants, and other high-risk groups. Through collaborative partnerships with SDM-1 STOP PRIMARY & URGENT CARE, HBI DC and the GILEAD, POWER OF GRACE works to provides culturally competent and linguistic appropriate viral and other type of hepatitis outreach, education, screening, hepatitis B vaccination, linkage to care, and patient navigation services for impacted communities.More than 320 million people worldwide are living with chronic hepatitis B or C virus
What is Hepatitis B and C?
A liver disease caused by the hepatitis B and C viruses. HBV and HCV can damage the liver needed for processing nutrients and fighting infections, and if left untreated can lead to liver cirrhosis, liver cancer, or even death!
Why is this serious?
-20,000 people get Hep B and 30,000 people get Hep C each year
-Most people are not aware of their infection
-Hep B & C are leading causes of liver cancer, which is the 2nd leading cause of death.
How can I get Hepatitis B or C? Who is at risk?
-Unprotected Sex
-Unsterile Needles
-Contaminated Blood
-Born in Africa or Asia
-Born during 1945-1965
-Mother to child during birth
-Traditional practices using contaminated razor blades
African Community
-100 million people have hepatitis B
-19 million are diagnosed with hepatitis C
-1 in African immigrants in the US live in the DC metro area
What can you do?
-Get tested
Hepatitis B and C! Early detection is important for treatment
-Get vaccinated – If you have not been vaccinated for hepatitis B.
SHAKE IT OFF PROGRAM
This program focusses on fighting childhood obesity by creating fun and activities-centered around each child’s unique features and choices that keep children active throughout the year. Between 2015-2016 nearly 1 in 5 school age children and young people (6 to 19 years) in the United States was diagnosed with obesity.
These activities include:
1. Choreographic dance
2. Steps until you win contest
3. Fashion Shows
4. Jump ropes
5. Fun Days in a chosen waterpark
6. Gardening and other outdoors activities as the kids plan
7. Healthy eating workshops
What is Obesity
Obesity is defined as having excess body fat. This is calculated using the Body mass index (BMI), which is a widely used screening tool for measuring obesity
– overweight in children and young people as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and less than the 95th percentile for young people of the same age and sex (CDC, 2016)
– obesity in children and young people as BMI at or above the 95th percentile for young people of the same age and sex (CDC, 2016).
Risk Factors of Childhood Obesity
• Genetics
• Metabolism—how your body changes food and oxygen into energy it can use.
• Community and neighborhood design and safety.
• Short sleep duration.
• Eating and physical activity behaviors.
How to prevent Childhood Obesity
1. Be the change, Lead the Change: as parent
2. Keep active
3. Help children develop healthy eating habits
4. Reduce activities time that cause them to seat all day