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Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya’s Vision:

A Story of Hope

Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya at Alive Medical Services clinic

The inspiring story of Dr. Pasquine Ogunsanya’s incredible journey, from serving a small group of HIV/AIDS clients with no resources to building one of Uganda’s leading, state-of-the-art HIV clinics that serves over 12,000 patients.

An Early Calling to the HIV/AIDS Fight Dr. Pasquine first learned about the HIV/AIDS epidemic when she was 15 years old. She was in secondary school at the time, and remembers hearing students telling horror stories about a strange killer disease called “Slim”. Rather than giggling and sharing jokes, students shared terrifying accounts and photos of people who had been killed by the disease.

Eventually “Slim” was diagnosed as HIV/AIDS. In these early years, people had very little information about HIV/AIDS and there was a lot of misinformation spread through myths. The disease was associated with promiscuity and prostitution, which mixed with other misinformation, increased the stigma surrounding the disease. People began to fear touching anyone with the disease and some even refused to sit next to or share possessions with someone who was infected.

Nearly one year after first learning about HIV/AIDS at school, Dr. Pasquine began hearing about family members falling sick and dying from the disease. She was particularly saddened while spending a holiday with family and witnessing one of her beloved aunts suffering from HIV/AIDS. Worried about the aunt, Dr. Pasquine had provided her with food, drink, and a place to rest. However another aunt, whom was worried about the spread of the disease, scolded the children for interacting with the aunt and told them to throw away all of the eating utensils that she had touched. This cold act of cruelty, which was a result of fear and ignorance, left a lasting impression on Dr. Pasquine and planted an early seed of commitment to fighting HIV/AIDS.

ALIVE MEDICAL SERVICES (AMS)

Crea t ing a wor ld o f l ove a nd d ig ni ty throug h prov i s i on o f

s ta t e - o f - the -a r t medi ca l s erv i ce s to the needy

Above: Dr. Pasquine and the AMS staff Left: Dr. Pasquine celebrates a young, healthy baby at the AMS clinic

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An Advocate Arises In 1990, Dr. Pasquine received a scholarship to study medicine in Russia. However, while she was studying overseas, many of Dr. Pasquine’s relatives died. Every time she received communication from home it would include someone else who had died. By the time Dr. Pasquine finished her studies and returned to Uganda many of her relatives were dead, including her younger sister. Dr. Pasquine began an internship at the national referral hospital, Mulago, where she saw many more people suffering and dying from AIDS. At the time, antiretroviral (ARV) drugs were extremely limited and unavailable to most people in Uganda, so the sick had to just wait to die. Watching this suffering, Dr. Pasquine committed herself to delivering better and more compassionate care to the sick. She recognized that even if there is no medication, people with HIV/AIDS should feel loved and not be alone. “Everyone deserves to die with dignity”. Dr. Pasquine began to learn more about HIV/AIDS and became determined to do something about it. When the Ugandan government began to roll out test kits and ARVs, Dr. Pasquine lobbied to ensure that even the poor and vulnerable could access these resources. Dr. Pasquine’s work revolved around the understanding that nobody should die of AIDS and that HIV should be prevented.

Humble Beginnings Lead to a Monumental Movement The initial days at AMS were not easy, as a staff-of-one Dr. Pasquine had to fulfill all of the various roles herself: she was the doctor, the nurse, the monitoring and evaluation officer, etc. In those early days it felt like she was “building the bridge while crossing it”. When AMS began there were just 6 clients, however the organization was founded with the heart to help as many people as possible. Yet even with this ambitious vision, Dr. Pasquine never imagined building a clinic that now serves over 12,000 patients. As AMS began to grow, Dr. Pasquine continued building relationships with the patients that came to the clinic. Through these relationships, she was able to see the complex web of factors that influenced patients’ health and outcomes. As a response, she developed a broad range of comprehensive services that served the entire patient’s wellbeing. The AMS model of care and support emphasizes clients’ rights and provision of loving and dignified, comprehensive HIV services, including:

ALIVE MEDICAL SERVICES (AMS)

DONATE TO ALIVE MEDICAL SERVICES AND HELP BUILD THE MOVEMENT!

Donate money to Alive Medical Services on Wednesday, 17th June and help us receive matching

funds from GlobalGiving!

AMS is looking for dedicated supporters to make financial contributions during the month of June for our first online fundraising

campaign. Donations will allow AMS to continue providing high-quality, comprehensive HIV treatment to a growing number of

clients. Learn more about the campaign and our progress by following AMS on Facebook, Twitter and our website

(www.amsuganda.org).

Now until 30th June go to

http://globalgiving.org/projects/comprehensive-hiv-treatment-for-12000-ugandans

to make a donation!

In- patient and Out-patients services for adults and children

Antenatal and Maternity Care, including elimination of mother-to-child transmission (EMTCT)

Family Planning

Immunisations and Well-baby visits

Child and Youth Activity days

Laboratory services

Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) for HIV

Comprehensive HIV/AIDS care including:

Provision of Anti-Retro Viral (ARV) Treatment

Treatment of Opportunistic Infections

Provision of nutritional supplement

TB assessment, diagnosis and treatment.

Community Outreach and Mobile Clinics

Home-Based Care and Ambulance services

Youth-friendly services and support groups

Psychosocial support