The AIDS Healthcare Foundation recently marked the incredible milestone of having two million lives in care across the globe. Many of those clients are in Africa, including two of the countries I visited in 2023: Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
With Africa home to more than half of AHF’s clients in care, Ethiopia got events going by connecting with the community through a live talk show, which included discussions on their services and the impact they delivered. Eswatini hosted an outdoor celebration with staff, clients, partners, and Ministry of Health officials. Kenya celebrated across five cities, with clients receiving hundreds of food baskets and staff and clients in Nairobi sharing a communal meal.
Lesotho hosted a picnic that brought together clients, staff, and partners to reflect on the journey of providing care to over 2 million people. Malawi shared AHF’s decades-long journey with partners and government officials at a dinner celebration. “The People’s Hope” short film was a highlight in Mozambique, which was accompanied by testimonials from HIV-positive individuals and congratulatory messages from government and NGO partners. Nigeria met with top health officials at the country’s largest AHF facility to showcase its work and celebrate with partners, staff, and clients.
Celebrations continued in Sierra Leone, where success stories from clients were presented to the media and partners during a gathering at a local hotel, alongside local cultural performances. South Africa used the milestone to highlight their services and successful programs like Girls Act and Food for Health, which have significantly improved the lives of their clients.
In Zambia, the AHF team celebrated in the heart of the Chaisa community, offering a wide range of health services, including HIV testing and treatment, cervical cancer screenings, and eyesight checkups. Zimbabwe joined the global celebration with a sports tournament, where teams from various clinics competed in soccer, netball, and relay races to strengthen service-provider and client engagement while reducing stigma and discrimination.