Opening Hours: Monday - Friday - 7:30 - 16:30, Saturday - Sunday - Closed
info@baylorbotswana.org.bw +267 319 0083
+267 319 0079
info@baylorbotswana.org.bw
A future where all children are living longer and healthier lives.
To provide high quality comprehensive family centred health care, education and clinical research.
Working in partnerships • Respecting our partners • Prizing teamwork • Embracing and valuing diversity • Focusing on solutions and not problems • Seeing an opportunity in every challenge • The total is greater than the sum of the individual parts
Genome Adventures is an innovative Wellcome Trust community engagement initiative of the Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN). CAfGEN is a member of the Human Heredity and Health in Africa consortium (H3 Africa) and is coordinated by the Botswana Baylor Children's Clinical Centre of Excellence (COE). Genome Adventures utilises capacity building workshops, educational comics and social media to engage community stakeholders, media practitioners and the general public especially the youth in genomics and biomedical research.
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There are currently 2,404 patients on our active follow up list, 55% of whom fall under WHO clinical stage 3 or 4 – meaning moderate or severe HIV disease. The population under our care is composed of 962 young patients aged 12 years and below, 935 patients between the ages of 13 and 18, and 507 patients over 18 years. Our annual mortality rate remains low at 0.2%, due in part to the fact that 92% of our patients on HAART have an undetectable viral load.
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The COE received a research grant of $3.64 million from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) to coordinate the Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN), made up of the Botswana-Baylor Children’s Clinical Centre of Excellence, the University of Botswana, the Baylor Uganda Children’s Foundation, Makerere University and Baylor College of Medicine.
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The programme has compensated for the shortage of doctors in the clinic. We currently have 9 nurses trained in the provision of paediatric HIV/AIDS screening, care, and treatment. These nurses see more than half of our stable patients, and patient satisfaction remains high.
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In the past six years, the project has made serious strides in three fundamental areas geared towards improving the diagnosis of tuberculosis in children in Botswana:
i) improved sputum collection in children, ii) the expansion of information, education and communication materials, and iii) and the development of a monitoring and evaluation system, resulting in the compilation of evidence which supports the Paediatric TB diagnostic algorithm.
The department is making significant contributions in providing holistic care and treatment to COE patients, more so because of the rapid growth in the population of adolescents, who are often faced with psychosocial challenges. Services provided include assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
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For some children, school meals may be their main source of food, therefore during routine dietetic consultation at the COE, caregivers of such children are advised to encourage their children to eat at school in order to safeguard their nutritional health.
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"We could not have achieved all of this success had it not been for the support of our dedicated staff and their families, partner institutions, the Botswana government, and our clients and their families. We are grateful for all you have done so far and know that you will continue to support this centre in the next phase of development. Le ka moso! "
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Teen Club is a monthly peer support group established in 2005 for HIV-positive adolescents who are between 13-19 years old. Teen Club empowers youths to build positive relationships, improve their self-esteem, and acquire life skills through peer mentorship, adult role-models, and structured activities. Teen Club creates a safe space for the teenagers to form friendships with peers with similar life experiences, while learning and acquiring important skills. Teen Club members are all HIV positive and know their HIV status. They meet once a month to socialise, learn, and have fun. Teen Club sessions are guided by a 12-month, standardised curriculum with broad themes such as adherence, health and nutrition, and career development, human rights, HIV status disclosure, and talent development. Botswana-Baylor staff review the curriculum annually with input from the Teen Club members.
Since the introduction of the supplemental tutoring programme in 2010, 153 students have been enrolled and 45 tutors (mostly volunteers from the University of Botswana) have generously dedicated their time to supporting our patients with their academic studies.
A total of 96 campers aged 10-16 years attended Camp Hope 2016. The residential camp was held at Mokolodi Game Reserve. The campers arrived on 27 November 2016 with lots of excitement and energy. We began the festivities with a campfire at which the children, roasted marshmallows and told a story about the struggles of living with HIV/AIDS. That set the tone for the rest of the camp as the teens were prepared to learn more about taking care of themselves physically, mentally, and psychosocially — all whilst having fun. Camp activities included arts and crafts, where they made friendship bracelets and photo frames. There was a team treasure hunt and silly Olympics, complete with sack races, dizzy dancing, and paper plane throwing. They also participated in life skills sessions on nutrition, hygiene, and confidence. On the final night, we celebrated everything they achieved during camp with a dance and a talent show. Camp Hope 2016 was made possible through a tripartite partnership between Baylor-Botswana, Serious Fun, and Sentebale. Serious Fun and Sentebale are international organizations that host camps dedicated to bettering the lives of vulnerable children.
The Teen Mothers Support Group is intended to help pregnant adolescents develop appropriate parenting skills through monthly meetings dedicated to topics including family planning, medication adherence, feelings and emotions, sexual and reproductive health, baby care, financial literacy and gender based violence prevention.
There are currently 45 teen mothers enrolled in the support group.
Yoga for Youths
In April 2017, the COE introduced yoga to complement other psychosocial support already provided for our young patients. Yoga focuses on harmony, balance, and inner awareness. For our clients, that can lead to improved quality of life: a more positive outlook, better adherence to ARV treatment, and greater awareness of their mental and emotional wellbeing. We developed a three-stage curriculum to guide the yoga training. The founding class comprised 11 participants who attended sessions over three weeks. Participants filled out the SF-36 survey — a standardized patient-reported health assessment — to measure quality of life at the start and end of the programme. It covers eight sections: vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, and mental health.
After the analysis, seven of the nine participants who completed both pre- and post-test surveys improved on their ratings, suggesting yoga had a positive effect on their overall health and wellbeing. Later, we’ll ask the participants to take the survey again to find out if the health benefits are maintained.
Paediatric KITSOAIDS trainings are five-day workshops funded by the Ministry of Health and Wellness for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, social workers, and other health professionals. (The acronym stands for Knowledge, Innovation, and Training Shall Overcome AIDS.) We conducted three paediatric KITSO courses over the past year, reaching 105 professionals drawn from Greater Gaborone, Lobatse, Goodhope and Ngamiland District Health Management Teams.
Baylor-Botswana reviewed the curriculum content to match changes in national treatment guidelines and the evolving needs of children and adolescents living with HIV.
Furing 2013-2014, 110 medical students, residents, fellows and other health professionals visited the COE as visiting scholars from various training programs in Botswana and from around the globe.
Visiting scholars spent most of their time in the COE shadowing and working alongside experienced providers.
Visiting scholars are afforded opportunities to participate in Teen Club activities, work at outreach sites alongside the outreach team, and/or spend time in wards at Princess Marina Hospital.
A patient reflects on Baylor’s role in shaping the young woman she is today I lost my mother at a very young age. I was 5 years old when she passed away. She had AIDS and was unable to get medication soon enough due to the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS. Once she passed away my family decided to get me tested for HIV, and unfortunately I was positive. I started going to Princess Marina Hospital and switched over to Baylor when the centre was built in 2003
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