Meet Eric, the peer educator: Improving HIV care among adolescents and young people in Western Uganda

As the tall young man walks towards the brick house at a homestead in Mugusu Town Council in Kabarole District, 12-year-old Harriet jumps up and greets him with a huge smile on her face.

“Eric teaches me how to swallow my medicine. When I go to the health centre, he takes my temperature, measures my weight, and checks if I am healthy and eating well,” says Harriet.

Eric Busingye, 20 years, is a young people and adolescent peer supporter (YAPS) programme member recruited in 2019. The YAPS Programme is an initiative of the Ministry of Health and partners including UNICEF, Global Fund with funding from SIDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Eric is one of 112 peer supporters recruited under the YAPS Model implemented by Baylor-Uganda in seven districts in south western Uganda including Kabarole with the aim of improving the quality of care for adolescents and addressing problems of poor retention in HIV care and low viral load suppression among HIV positive young adults.

The peer supporters who themselves are living with HIV, are trained to support peers to improve their drug adherence and ensure the HIV virus is suppressed. The YAPS also link and refer young people for HIV services such as counselling, drug adherence, home visits and health education on HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.

When Eric became a YAPS member in 2019, he was linked to 23 adolescents who had unsuppressed viral loads. 21 of the 23 supported adolescents are now virally suppressed with copies of the virus in the blood less than 200 per millilitre.

“I counsel them and ensure that they go for care at the health facility. If they miss an appointment, I follow up, visit them at home to deliver their drugs and seek out other underlying issues causing failure in adherence. My work is to ensure that they have suppressed viral load,” says Eric who has also been receiving HIV care and treatment at Mugusu Health Centre since 2016.

Before becoming a YAPS, Eric was very crowd-shy and reserved, “I couldn’t even stand and talk before people but now I can carry out health education at the outpatient department where there are very many people,” Eric says, emphasizing that he has overcome stigma and is helping others do the same.

Prossy Bagaya, the YAPS Supervisor at Mugusu Health Centre notes that the YAPS help to follow up the adolescent and young people in care and that this has improved retention in care. The YAPS also help in identification of new cases because they have close relationships with adolescents and young people and can talk freely about their status.

Prior to the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown in 2020, Eric had been able to pay his school fees from the monthly stipend of 180,000 UXG (Approx. US$50) that he earns from the YAPS Programme. Eric has also started projects in piggery, goat rearing and planting passion fruits and cowpeas from his savings to supplement his income and prepare him for a smooth transition when his contract with YAPS ends.

Beyond finances, Eric has also been inspired to take better care of his health. “I used to forget to take my drugs but now I am more careful because I am a leader and a role model to other adolescents living with HIV.” He also wants other young people to get involved and benefit from the YAPS programme once he transitions to the adult clinic when he is 24 years.