The Family Treatment Fund (FTF) purpose is simple. We save lives by providing HIV treatment to the neediest patients for less than a dollar a day. Medical care is provided free through the Mbarara University HIV clinic. Each time we receive enough donations to commit to at least five years, we start a new person on treatment.

Among the 1.2 million people living with HIV/AIDS in Uganda, only one-half of those in need receive life-saving HIV antiretroviral therapy. Multi-national programs such as the Global Fund and President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPfAR) have expanded access to treatment. While multinational programs have made great progress, critical gaps remain. Those who access treatment may wait several months and the most severely perish while waiting. Many do not have access at all. The Family Treatment Fund fills these gaps by creating a bridge to multinational programs one family at a time. Our goal is to put one new person on treatment every day. For less than a dollar a day, you can save someone's life and keep a family together through a gift to the Family Treatment Fund.

photo by Bea Ahbeck

Last year, we were able to provide treatment to Jacinta and her husband, who are both HIV positive and were unable to provide for their three children due to advanced HIV/AIDS. They continue to thrive on Family Treatment Fund–provided medication, and the family has been able to stay together.

Watch a video documentary of the project here

The Family Treatment Fund seeks direct resources to provide complete care to the Ugandan families until a time when HIV antiretroviral treatment will be more widely accessible through multinational efforts.

In November, 2005, Joe Bourguignon filmed three Family Treatment Fund Recipients who tell stories of their families living with HIV/AIDS.  Watch the video here.

Read more about the program in a recent article in UCSF Today here: Working To Fill AIDS Treatment Gap In Uganda