Bangladesh Conference for HIV Children’s Project
Preparations are being made for a project providing holistic care for HIV affected children in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh Youth First Concern (BYFC) will host a conference in Dhaka on February 22nd to consult with the key stakeholders, including UNICEF, WHO, UNAIDS, BRAC, Dhaka Medical College, about 20 local organisations involved in HIV, and Fulcrum Aid from Australia. It is hoped that the conference will map a strategy to establish the program that will ensure vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS have a safe home, plus access to education, medical treatment and psychological support.
Dr Peter Halder (pictured) Director of BYFC, reports it will be the only program of its kind in Bangladesh.
Fulcrum Aid has made a commitment to support the project and is working with staff from Flinders University and professionals from the Bangladesh community in Adelaide to provide research that will be used to design the model of care provided.
Dr Julie Robinson, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Flinders University, has supplied initial research outlining best practice for nurturing the development and well being of disadvantaged children in developing countries.
Dr Shahid Ullah, Senior Biostatistician at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) says “Fulcrum Aid is a great milestone of working with adults and children from extreme inequality to alleviate their suffering and to improve their lives. As a Bangladeshi national, I am so delighted to see the Bangladesh project "HIV affected children - Bangladesh” and raised my sincere appreciation to those who have taken initiatives of working with vulnerable HIV children in Bangladesh. It is my great pleasure to become part of Fulcrum Aid and work for disadvantaged children and adults in Bangladesh and the world."
Joining Dr Shahid Ullah and Dr Julie Robinson on our research team are Asma Akther (PhD candidate in Developmental Psychology), Shila Phopo (Fulcrum Aid Project Manager and DrPH candidate) and Dr Lillian Mwanri, (Senior Lecturer in Public Health, Flinders University).
For more information click here to go to the project page. Please This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to register your interest in this project.
About the Author
Steve Blacket
Steve is the Managing Director of Fulcrum Aid, an organisation dedicated to sustainable freedom from extreme poverty with partnerships in four countries across Africa and the Asia-Pacific. Steve’s urban ministry in South Australia led to lifelong friendships among the South Sudanese refugee community who requested Steve’s assistance with community development in their homeland. Working with a faith-based organisation Steve initiated and managed various projects in South Sudan including Darfur refugee support, training and resourcing Traditional Birth Attendants, an intervention program for war affected children, a Midwives Training School, a program for girl’s education, and a community agricultural enterprise. Steve also initiated education projects and social enterprises among the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh. Steve returned to Australia in 2013 with a vision of how a small, non-aligned aid organisation committed to assisting early stage, locally initiated projects could make a difference. Partnerships and project opportunities continue to grow, including slavery rehabilitation in South Sudan, social enterprises in Bangladesh, independence schemes for vulnerable young women in Uganda and South Sudan, holistic care for HIV affected children in Bangladesh, and resourcing a Nurse and Midwife School in Juba, South Sudan. Steve’s vision drew support from across Australia and in 2014 he led the founding of Fulcrum Aid, dedicated to supporting in-country leaders and harnessing Australian partners and resources so that local communities could move towards sustainable freedom from extreme inequality and poverty. Today Fulcrum Aid has a dedicated team of Directors and an expert staff including Business, Project, Publicity and Research consultants, supported by Steve in his role as Managing Director.
Contact Steve by email here.