TB and HIV/AIDS Treatment Centers

Mercy-USA operates TB and HIV/AIDs health centers in Somalia in large part to generous support of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and UNICEF.

These dozen health centers serve as diagnostic and treatment facilities for Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS. These centers boast a cure rate for TB of over 80%. 

In addition to diagnosis and treatment, the centers also offer education and community outreach in effort to remove the deep stigma associated with TB and HIV/AIDS. Mercy-USA staff strives to help patients see that they can be cured of TB or live productive lives with HIV/AIDS if treatment maintained. 

Ali’s Story: Denial to Treatment Success

38-year old Ali’s wife suffered from an unknown illness that local clinics couldn’t diagnose. Finally, they went to a hospital that required HIV testing before admission; it was there they learned his wife was suffering from HIV/AIDS. 

Upset and furious, he refused testing to know his own HIV status. He said he considered divorcing his wife but couldn’t take her from his five children. His wife, stoic and determined to get well, immediately began stuck to the treatment regime and within a year, she regained her health.

In the meantime, Ali became sick and bedridden. His wife convinced him to visit the Mercy-USA TB and HIV facility in Mogadishu after learning of their approach to diagnosis and treatment. 

Ali tested positive for the disease and began treatment right away to save his life. Just as importantly, he received gentle counseling on the disease, “I was counseled before and after the testing, the health workers explained to me how the disease spreads, how to live with it and how to protect oneself and others. I was also told to bring my children in for testing. Fortunately, they all tested negative. I’m now hopeful that I will not die from the disease.”

This holistic approach to the treatment of the disease, which holds an extreme stigma in Somali society was successful in keeping Ali and his wife alive as well as preserving their family.