HIV AIDS
PATA Forum
The annual PATA Forum has become a PATA team process: a process of sharing knowledge, comparing experiences, assessing one’s performance and ultimately electing tasks aimed at delivering the best possible quality of care to children living with HIV/AIDS, their families and communities.
The PATA Forum is held annually either pan-African or regionally (East, Southern and West Francophone Africa) where treatment teams from PATA - affiliated clinics meet up to measure their progress, share experiences and come up with new solutions.
The Forum enables teams to learn from each other and has led to the development of ground-breaking new models of treating and raising awareness of HIV.
Whilst PATA 2005 brought together 22 clinic teams, each comprising a doctor, nurse, counsellor and pharmacist from 8 countries, PATA 2006 had 34 teams from 18 sub-Saharan countries interacting across borders, cultures, languages and disciplines. PATA 2007 brought even more clinic teams together in Swaziland, with a particular focus on adolescents and the increasing impact of TB on HIV+ patients. The fourth PATA Forum was held in Rwanda in November 2008. The Forum was attended by 43 treatment teams from 17 Sub- Saharan countries. For the first time, nutritionists joined doctors, nurses, counsellors and pharmacists at the conference which focused on 'Care of the very young child with HIV', 'Nutrition' and 'How to make changes in paediatric services'.
In November 2009, with the support of One to One Children’s Fund, PATA held its fifth Forum in Gauteng, South African. For the first time, 27 clinic teams from 10 countries were invited for a regional forum, and worked on ' Advanced ARV Therapy', 'Adolescent Care' and 'Psychosocial Support'.
October 2010 saw the second regional Forum- East Africa- held in Kampala, Uganda. 20 teams attended from four countries. The topics were 'Disclosure to Children', 'Advanced ARV Therapy' and 'Adolescent Care'.
The next PATA Forum, one that encompasses all our participating countries, will be held in Gaborone, Botswana, 14-18 November 2011. 40 teams will attend. The topics will be 'Early Infant Care', 'Caring for the Adolescent Girl' and 'Adding Value to Your Service'.
Clinics are invited to organise local forums as a means to cascade knowledge and learning from the annual PATA forum to the community level. Local PATA forums will closely follow the format of annual PATA forums (i.e. plenary presentations, intra-disciplinary workshops and inter-disciplinary workshops.)
A typical local forum involves 4 treatment teams of 5 people (approximately 20 participants) from the surrounding community, as well as Expert patients and/or Community Health Care Workers. A dissemination of information plan is created to ensure that information reaches other clinics, government bodies and officials. Like in the annual forums, teams are asked to set goals aimed at improving the quality of care they provide to HIV infected and affected children and their families.
Visit www.teampata.org for more information on PATA Forums as well as comprehensive proceedings for each.
see our work in action
Forum Proceedings & Outcomes
Press Release for World Aids Day 2008