GlobeMed at Northeastern University partners with Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organization in Masaka, Uganda to support HIV care and community development.
GlobeMed at Northeastern University + Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organization
Chapter
GlobeMed at Northeastern University | Boston, Massachusetts
Partner
Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organization | Masaka, Uganda
Key Fact
Kitovu Mobile operates in Masaka District, a predominantly rural and poor area with high rates of HIV (about 12 percent prevalence).
Toilet coverage in the Masaka District remains below 10 percent.
“I joined GlobeMed as a sophomore, in a time of my life when I had very little idea of what career path I wanted to take. As the years have passed, and as I’ve become continually interested in global health and inequity, GlobeMed has been a great outlet for me as I’ve worked toward a career in medicine. As a senior, I can now look back at not only what I’ve given to GlobeMed, but what GlobeMed has given to me – a desire to help those in under-served countries as I continue in my medical career. I cherish each moment that I’ve spent in this group, and hope to see our Northeastern chapter expand long after I graduate.”
– Katie Coleman, Northeastern University ’12
About the Partnership
Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organization (Kitovu Mobile) aims to create an empowered community with the ability to cope with HIV/AIDS and its impact. To improve the quality of life of people affected by HIV/AIDS, Kitovu Mobile works with communities in the areas of prevention, care, support and capacity building. They focus their work on the most vulnerable groups in the district, including people living with HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, orphans and other vulnerable children, widows and grandmothers.
Kitovu Mobile operates 121 health centers and trains community workers to sensitize local communities about such topics as basic facts about HIV/AIDS, behavior change, family planning, and home-based care. They also provide counseling for communities to assist them in dealing with the consequences of HIV/AIDS. Since 2009, GlobeMed at Northeastern has raised over $22,000 to support Kitovu Mobile’s projects, including hygiene and sanitation projects.
Project
This year, GlobeMed at Northeastern is aiming to support a hygiene and sanitation project for Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organization in Masaka, Uganda. This project will fund the construction of latrines as well as health education workshops focused on the links between health and hygiene. These workshops will work with support groups for poor women, empowering them to become health promoters in their communities. They will be trained in practices such as hand washing and water boiling and will then be responsible for teaching these skills to other women in their communities.
Impact
The latrines will keep sewage and clean drinking water separate and safe, effectively reducing water-borne diseases and improving the overall health of the community.
Get Involved
Read GlobeMed at Northeastern’s annual report and donate to this cause. Interested in joining the chapter? Contact northeastern@globemed.org.
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