Unverified non-profit organisation

Zaam Community Based Health Development Organisation (ZACHEDO) was started initially as a health clinic called Zaam clinic to provide curative/ treatment services to outpatient children and adults in Katwe slum, as the demand for inpatient and maternity services increased, Zaam clinic was expanded to Zaam clinic and Maternity, now called Zaam Medical Centre with an inpatient capacity of 20 beds. However from the analysis, 75% of the disease burden handled at the health facility could be prevented by the community itself at household level once given the necessary knowledge and skills. Therefore in 2011, ZACHEDO attained a legal status as a fully registered Community Based Organisation for implementing and supervising primary prevention and other intervention at household and community level to help address community social, economic and health problems through involving communities living in urban slums and rural areas in the enhancement of their own health and development with a view of achieving a sustainable impact.

ZACHEDO works with the most vulnerable and marginalised groups such as commercial sex workers adolescents, youth, women, children and people with disabilities in and around Katwe slum in Kampala City and rural areas of Uganda to prevent diseases leading to ill-health and death and in partnership with other groups, CBOs, governmental and non-governmental, national or international bodies that have similar objectives and aspirations as ZACHEDO. ZACHEDO’s Health facility (Zaam Medical Centre) was also selected and accredited by the Uganda ministry of health as a practicum site for training on comprehensive family planning such as IUCD/Norplant insertion, vasectomy, and post abortion care and as a venue for community outreaches during National Immunization Days, eye care and voluntary HIV counseling and testing for all the slum communities in Makindye Division.

Zaam Medical Centre was also accredited by Uganda Ministry of Health as a distribution Centre for ARVs, TB drugs and a predicament site for implementation of various community outreach activities in line with Reproductive Health i.e. Immunization, HIV Counseling and testing (HCT), antenatal clinic (ANC) and Family planning services.

Vision: A Community free from preventable causes of ill-health and death.

Mission: To empower disadvantaged communities in urban slums overcome preventable causes of ill-health and deaths through health promotion and disease prevention.

Objectives
1. To promote individual and community responsibility for better health through behavioral change, capacity building, community participatory planning and governance amongst marginalized groups (women, children and youth) living in slums and rural areas in Uganda.
2. To increase access to integrated health promotion, disease prevention and curative interventions for malaria; HIV/AIDS, STIs, TB; Maternal and Child Health; Adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights; Water and sanitation amongst the vulnerable groups living in slums and rural areas in Uganda.
3. To strengthen coordination and collaboration of interventions with key partners such as government line ministries, local governments and other relevant stakeholders that promote health for disadvantaged communities living in urban slums and rural areas in Uganda.
4. To mobilize resources to promote health and development of disadvantaged communities living in slums and rural areas in Uganda.

Area of focus:

ZACHEDO’s main key priority intervention areas include;
1. HIV/AIDS, STI and TB; It has made a positive impact on HIV/AIDS prevention in slums through support of activities in adolescent sexual and reproductive health and promotion of PMTCT/EMTCT, HIV counseling and testing, STI management, safe male circumcision as well as health education.
2. Maternal and child health care; promotion of primary health care through immunisation for children under five years and pregnant women, antenatal and Postnatal care
3. Adolescent sexual reproductive health and rights; for example, promotion of Reproductive health services through comprehensive family planning including insertion of intra uterine contraceptive device (IUCD) and Norplant, Post abortion care, Management of opportunistic infections, Health promotion and education
4. Malaria; strengthening community involvement in malaria control and educating communities about the importance of use of insecticide treated nets, prompt treatment for malaria symptoms especially in young children, early and effective case management, in-door residual spraying (IRS) and Intermittent Preventive Treatment of pregnant women (IPTp) with anti-malarial tablets.
5. Water and sanitation; community sensitization on proper hygiene, waste disposal and management, increase access to clean safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, raise community awareness about personal and environmental hygiene and improve drainage systems.
6. Medical Services; Screening for breast and cervical cancer, curative and in-patient services/Admissions, minor surgeries, maternity, dental and laboratory services.
7. Community empowerment and capacity building; through participatory problem identification, planning, implementation, governance, monitoring and evaluation in addition to holding sensitisation meetings, counselling sessions on reproductive health, sanitation and hygiene. Etc

Services offered at Zaam Medical Centre

• Curative and in-patient services/Admissions
• Health promotion and education
• Immunisation for children under five years and pregnant women.
• Comprehensive Family Planning including insertion of IUCD and Norplant
• Screening for breast and cervical cancer (VIA)
• Antenatal care including Prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV or Elimination of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT/EMTCT) and postnatal care programme.
• Delivery services (Maternity)
• Postnatal care.
• Safe Male circumcision
• HIV counselling and Testing
• Management of opportunistic infections
• Dental services
• Laboratory and scan services
• Surgical operations mainly caesarean and minor surgeries.
• Community outreaches
• Post abortion care
• Adolescent friendly services including STI management

Achievements:

1. ZACHEDO has made a positive impact on HIV/AIDS prevention in Katwe slums especially amongst adolescents and women living in Makindye division through;
• Support of activities in adolescent sexual and reproductive health such as health education, this was successfully achieved through partnership with Marie stopes Uganda in their Link up program
• Promotion of PMTCT/EMTCT services; for example a total of39 mothers were enrolled on PMTCT/EMTCT program
• Free HIV counseling and testing; for example 5,711women and men accessed this service and a total of 23 clients found to be HIV positive were enrolled for ART through our ART clinic.
• Safe medical circumcision; where a total of 10 young men were circumcised by end of 2015.
• Comprehensive Family Planning; 466 women and young girls of reproductive age accessed this service by the end of 2015 as shown in table1 below.
• Distribution of free condoms to all community members especially the youth and adolescents in addition to treatment of STIs among adolescents, this was done with in kind support from UHMG where by a total of 9,500packets of condoms were distributed.

2. ZACHEDO also worked with other stakeholders and Civil Society Organizations for effective service delivery for example we worked in partnership with Uganda Health Marketing Group in carrying out community outreaches on HIV counseling& testing (HCT), Networking and support for referral cases to the health facilities according to the patient’s illness. We also worked in partnership with Marie Stopes Uganda under the Blue Star program to implement comprehensive family planning services such as No-plant insertion and IUD insertion at community level through outreach activities.

3. ZACHEDO in partnership with Kampala Capital City Authority also made a contribution and support to immunization, for example child immunatisation coverage increased to more than 84% in Kampala, a total of 3,605children were immunized by the end of 2015.
4. ZACHEDO further worked in partnership with Marie Stopes Uganda through their Link up Program to help reduce HIV and STI infections among adolescents both in and out of school living in the slums of Makindye Division through outreach and facility based activities on STI treatment, HIV Counseling and Testing as well as health education on proper health seeking behavior such as condom use

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