Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bujumbura (Agenzia Fides) – In Burundi a small Clinic recently opened by the Service Yezu Mwiza (SYM), a programme run by Jesuit Fathers, provides treatment for AIDS and preventative therapy against HIV. News of the inauguration was sent to Fides by the Jesuit General Curia in Rome. The realisation of the Clinic is an important step for SYM which at the beginning of the year was acknowledged as a registered Centre for the distribution of antiretroviral therapy (ART). "We thanked God for this success which will enable the people we serve, many of whom are extremely poor, to save the money they would otherwise spend on transport to obtain the necessary medicines from medical centres or hospitals further away ", said the director of SYM, Fr Désiré Yamuremye, S.J. "Thanks to our strategy of going out to people, visiting parishes and nearby medical centres, our doctors will be able to distribute therapy to anyone in need. This has always been our policy and the people who benefit are most grateful". The aim is to offer all-round care: medical, psychological and nutritional and even micro-credit for income-generating activities. The children benefit from educational support and other programmes. (AP) (23/6/2010 Agenzia Fides)
