The AIDS Support Organization

Overview

The AIDS Support Organisation is a non-governmental organisation started in Uganda in 1987 by a group of medical staff who had witnessed how badly patients showing signs of Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) were being treated on the wards in the National Referral Hospital Mulago Kampala. It started out as a small informal group of people meeting to talk about HIV and AIDS. and grow into an organisation. It then grew into one of the major HIV and AIDS care organisations in Uganda It was started when Uganda was just recovering from a war that brought the current Government to power.

It was founded to provide comfort to patients who were being discriminated against and sometimes abandoned by relatives to die within the hospital compound. As the number of people coming for comfort to this small group grew, counseling became a necessary service to keep those seeking comfort. TASO grew into one of the largest indigenous HIV and AIDS services Organisation in Uganda.

After Christopher Kaleeba, a radiographer, tested positive for HIV and suffered stigma and discrimination at the hands of his contemporaries in Mulago Hospital; he suggested to his wife (Noerine Kaleeba) and her friend (both physiotherapists in Mulago Hospital) that a support group be formed to encourage those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS within the hospital.

The small group, composed of health workers and some patients, were allocated a room in the Polio Clinic at Mulago Hospital where they began offering clinical out-patient services run by Prof. Elly Katabira as in AIDS Clinic.

In 1989, TASO was privileged to host Philly Lutaaya a known musician, AIDS activitist and first prominent person to put a human face to AIDS in Uganda. His song "Alone" was adopted as an anthem in TASO as well as many other AIDS groups in Uganda and many other countries. Following the example of Philly Lutaaya, clients who were gifted in music, dance and drama began performing in local communities to sensistise them on HIV and AIDS. The use of music, dance and drama was replicated in all the TASO Centers and became a major tool for crowd mobilisation and community sensitisation. At the end of 1993, TASO had expanded from one district to seven districts in Uganda.

Partnerships

Together with another organisation called Traditional and modern Health practitioners Together Against AIDS (THETA), TASO pioneered the collaboration with traditional healers in 1992 to give them basic counseling skills as well as knowledge about HIV infection.

From October 1999 - 2007, TASO partnered with National Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS (NACWOLA) to run the Child Survival Project. The Project cost $1,000,000 and assisted 435 children to improve their literacy skills and to acquire skills that are essential for survival. From October 2000 - 2007, TASO implemented the Vocational Apprenticeships for Vulnerable Children. It cost $926,355 and 832 children benefited through apprenticeship training.

From 2004 - 2006, TASO partnered with the National Agricultural Research Organisation of Uganda to implement the Partners for Food Security (PAFOSE) Project. Through this partnership both organisations were able to address issues pertaining to food insecurity within households in rural Uganda especially in the district of Tororo.TASO has partnered with some of the most at risk groups to spearhead HIV prevention in Uganda. For example, the uniformed forces

In 2012, TASO celebrated its Silver Jubilee. It is also the day it launched its new Strategic Plan (2013 - 2017) which called for more funding (both local and international) for HIV related services in Uganda.TASO collaborated with World Food Program to provide food to its clients.TASO recognised that clients need a source of livelihood and therefore partnered with other organisations such as Poultry Project to provide chicken to families as well as other animals such as pigs as Income Generating Activities.

Services

1. Pre and Post test counseling

1. Good Adherence to HAART and improved survival in a community HIV/AIDS treatment and care programme: the experience of The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) Kampala, Uganda. Published 20 November 2008 by BMC Health Services Research 2008, 8:241. doi:10 1186/1472-6963/8/241. Abaasa M. Andrew et al.[1]
2. Reliability of scored patient generated subjective global assessment for nutritional status among HIV infected adults in TASO, Kampala. Published 2011 by African Health Sciences 2011; 11(S1): S86 - S92.[2]

TASO Centers

TASO has 11 Centers established across the country.

1. TASO Mulago (Est November 1987)
2. TASO Masaka (Est May 1988)
3. TASO Training Center (Est October 1988)
4. TASO Tororo (Est November 1988)
5. TASO Mbarara (Est January 1989)
6. TASO Mbale (Est March 1990)
7. TASO Jinja (Est March 1991)
8. TASO Entebbe (Est November 1991)
9. TASO Gulu (Est January 2004)
10. TASO Rukungiri (Est August 2004)
11. TASO Soroti (Est August 2004)
12. TASO Masindi (Est August 2005)

Projects

Active

1. Grants Management Unit
2. SCALAP - Karamoja
3. CAPT Network

Ended

1. TEACH - (Started in 2005, to support AIDS Service Organisations in Sub Saharan Africa to build their capacity in offering HIV related services.)

1. SCOT
2. REACH U
3. PrEP
4. SUSTAIN
5. Nu-Hites