Baylor Foundation Eswatini
Baylor College of Medicine Children’s Foundation – Eswatini, known as Baylor Foundation Eswatini, is a not-for-profit child health and development organization that operates Baylor College of Medicine - Bristol Myers-Squibb Children’s Clinical Center of Excellence – Eswatini (COE) and two satellite clinics
Baylor Foundation Eswatini supports the Ministry of Health in improving the health sector response to HIV through the provision of high-quality, family-centered pediatric and adolescent health care, education, and clinical research. This ultimately helps the country to achieve its broad mandate, the Sustainable Development Goals. The Ministry of Health takes a Health Systems Strengthening approach to achieve an HIV-free generation, through partnerships and strong ties with civil society, including through its public-private partnership with Baylor Foundation Eswatini.
Baylor Foundation Eswatini implements a child and adolescent health program in Eswatini, focusing on interventions that address the major causes of morbidity and mortality in children as well as those who are proven to be highly effective in improving the health and development of adolescents living with HIV. They are the national leader in pediatric HIV/AIDS and TB care and treatment in the country, caring for almost half of all children on antiretroviral therapy in Eswatini. Their scope has increased to cover other services, such as education, screening, and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions for the entire population. They also offer health professional trainings and clinical research.
At A Glance
Location:
Founded:
BUDGET (USD):
EMPLOYEES:
Patients:
Mbabane, Eswatini
2005
2.5 Million
113
5,348
*The data reported covers our work in the 2022 fiscal year.
Notable Programs
Adolescents Living With HIV
Baylor Foundation Eswatini collaborates with UNICEF to strengthen HIV prevention, treatment and care for children and adolescents in Eswatini. Several interventions have been initiated to ensure children and adolescents receive the clinical and psychosocial support they need to reach viral load suppression and have a positive health outcome. The program provides “in-reach” services, whereby we visited children and adolescents who had defaulted treatment or were lost- to-follow-up at their respective homes for assessment to explore options to bring them back on treatment. Social workers conducted 303 home visits over the past year. The clinic continually encourages teen club members to adhere to their medication and fully live healthy lives through fun, themed lessons. Teen Club enrolls at least 393 young people each month.
Baby Club
Baylor Foundation Eswatini has established a ground-breaking initiative known as ‘Baby Club’, a support group for HIV-positive mothers with their HIV-positive babies under the age of three. Baby Club provides psychosocial support to caregivers, fostering a climate of developmental play that will allow these children to thrive. Mother-baby pairs come together monthly for support, education and fun at our clinics. Since its inception in June 2017, the attendance of mother-baby pairs has been steadily increasing from 10 at the initial meetings to 59 pairs today. We have since rolled-out this initiative to our satellite clinics in Manzini and Hlathikhulu.
Teen Mom Club
In 2019 we established Teen Mom Club, a new support group for HIV-positive pregnant and lactating teenage mothers. The support group sessions are facilitated by a mentor mother who handles the logistics of toy movement between sites, calls mothers who are late for their clinic appointments, helps form relationships with the teen mothers and also conducts home visits for those who have defaulted treatment. The ultimate goal is to support pregnant and lactating teen mothers to ensure viral suppression, prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV and financial independence through building on income generating skills.
Education for Cancer Prevention, Treatment and Care Project (ECPT)
Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation has funded a new project to raise cancer awareness and lay the groundwork for better cancer prevention and treatment in Eswatini. In May 2019, Baylor Foundation Eswatini as a consortium leader, received funds to sensitize key stakeholders on cancer, create community cancer awareness among individuals, screen patients for breast and cervical cancer and vaccinate eligible adolescents aged 9-14 years with the HPV vaccine. In addition, women are able to receive treatment for precancerous lesions.
Due to the aggressive community cancer screening and buy-in from community gatekeepers and the Ministry of Health, the project has been able to conduct outreaches in the targeted areas, community clinics, individual organizations and church gatherings. We have surpassed all the screening targets within a year of implementation (a total of 12,745 patients). In addition, community members appreciate the integrated approach for cancer screenings along with screenings and treatment for other non-communicable diseases.
TB Reach Project (Vikela Ekhaya)
Baylor Foundation Eswatini solicited funding to implement a community-based TB contact management project with linkages to healthcare services for enhanced diagnostics. The project is known as Vikela Ekhaya, which means TB Prevention at Home. This household TB contact management program identifies people with recent household exposure to TB through community-based clinical evaluation and prompt diagnoses of people with TB. It supports the activities of community Active Case Finders, a cadre recruited by the Ministry of Health working in the communities to screen for TB in those in contact of active TB cases. It also focuses on the capacity building of healthcare workers to collect pediatric TB samples to evaluate TB/HIV cases and to provide TB preventative therapy.
Patient Stories
“As I grew up without parents, I came to Baylor Foundation Eswatini where I met parental figures through the good treatment there. Teen club taught me how to socialize and relate to other people. They empowered me such that I developed high self-esteem. I am so thankful because now I can stand on my own and face the world. My goal is to help other HIV positive young people who went through the same challenges I faced so they can overcome also.”
Teen testimony
“I am a girl who was born positive with no future ahead of me because I thought everything was falling apart, my dreams just faded away. The mother of all nations, Baylor Foundation Eswatini, restored my hope. Now I am healthy Big Girl, thank you Baylor Foundation Eswatini for your love. You brought me up with care and support.”
Teen testimony
Leadership
Makhosazana M. Dlamini, M.B.A.
Executive Director
PARTNERS
Kingdom of Eswatini
Baylor College of Medicine
Texas Children’s Hospital
UNICEF
World Health Organization (WHO)
The U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR)
Peace Corps
ICAP at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
Children's Palliative Care | The Rocking Horse Project
SeriousFun Children's Network
Swaziland Breast Cancer Network
Connect Health
CANGO
Collaborative African Genomics Network (CAfGEN) - H3Africa
KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation
The Forum for African Women Educationalists Swaziland Chapter (FAWESWA)
The Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation
Annual Reports
BIPAI and its network of Centers of Excellence that have saved a generation of children and young mothers from the ill effects of and possibly death from HIV/AIDS.