Abstract
This reports a 25-year case demonstration of a Kenyan-based NGO founded by an American RN in response to the life-threats for HIV+ widows and their children in Kenya. Initially providing AIDS medication, food, shelter and structured skills training for economic development and support for keeping their children in school, the program now provides interdisciplinary care by the program primary physician and social worker, agronomist and community support from program graduates. Long-standing academic partnership with a US University models APRN team-based care medical volunteers, later adding Kenyan University nursing faculty and students for mobile medical camps. Health data collection/analytics supports improved advanced services/disease detection and management. This program provides a structured, five-phase model delivering health care, mental health screening, nutrition support, education sponsorship, vocational training, climate-smart agriculture, and economic empowerment for HIV-positive single mothers. Seven Centers and related youth programs have served over 695 mothers, 2,410 children, and more than 344,000 adolescent girls through menstrual health initiatives. Graduates now lead most centers, demonstrating sustainable workforce and leadership development. Mobile medical camps led by the staff physician and
U.S./Kenyan medical volunteers share clinic data, addressing health risks.
East Africa is experiencing negative climate impacts that disproportionately affects impoverished, widowed, HIV-positive women and their dependent children. Kenya’s State of Climate 2023 report documents rising temperatures, severe drought–flood cycles, infrastructure damage, and food and water insecurity, all of which undermine health and economic stability. These escalate vector-borne, waterborne, and zoonotic infections, risky in HIV+ women. They also experience high-fluoride groundwater, aflatoxin-contaminated maize, and cultural food prep and consumption practices exacerbating risks for anemia, gastrointestinal illness, and esophageal cancer in addition to HIV elevated risks of cervical and breast cancer. These challenges highlight urgent needs for localized, rapid, and interdisciplinary responses that integrate health, agriculture, and social support systems and data analytics demonstrated by this safety-net NGO/academic multidisciplinary primary care model with improved health outcomes above the general population which will be discussed in the presentation.
Notes
Reference list included in attached slide deck.
Sigma Membership
Zeta Eta at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Academic-Clinical Partnership, Global Leadership, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Climate Change, Climate Change--Adverse Effects, Women, Women's Health, HIV-Positive Persons, Kenya
Recommended Citation
Van Auker, Laura L.; Cavanagh, Stephen J.; Meda, Janet; Singh, Charleen; Wagoro, Miriam Carole Atieno; and Omenda, Mariana, "NGO & US/Kenyan Academic Multidisciplinary Teams Mitigate Climate Health Impacts for HIV+ Women" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 244.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/244
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-08-29
NGO & US/Kenyan Academic Multidisciplinary Teams Mitigate Climate Health Impacts for HIV+ Women
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
This reports a 25-year case demonstration of a Kenyan-based NGO founded by an American RN in response to the life-threats for HIV+ widows and their children in Kenya. Initially providing AIDS medication, food, shelter and structured skills training for economic development and support for keeping their children in school, the program now provides interdisciplinary care by the program primary physician and social worker, agronomist and community support from program graduates. Long-standing academic partnership with a US University models APRN team-based care medical volunteers, later adding Kenyan University nursing faculty and students for mobile medical camps. Health data collection/analytics supports improved advanced services/disease detection and management. This program provides a structured, five-phase model delivering health care, mental health screening, nutrition support, education sponsorship, vocational training, climate-smart agriculture, and economic empowerment for HIV-positive single mothers. Seven Centers and related youth programs have served over 695 mothers, 2,410 children, and more than 344,000 adolescent girls through menstrual health initiatives. Graduates now lead most centers, demonstrating sustainable workforce and leadership development. Mobile medical camps led by the staff physician and
U.S./Kenyan medical volunteers share clinic data, addressing health risks.
East Africa is experiencing negative climate impacts that disproportionately affects impoverished, widowed, HIV-positive women and their dependent children. Kenya’s State of Climate 2023 report documents rising temperatures, severe drought–flood cycles, infrastructure damage, and food and water insecurity, all of which undermine health and economic stability. These escalate vector-borne, waterborne, and zoonotic infections, risky in HIV+ women. They also experience high-fluoride groundwater, aflatoxin-contaminated maize, and cultural food prep and consumption practices exacerbating risks for anemia, gastrointestinal illness, and esophageal cancer in addition to HIV elevated risks of cervical and breast cancer. These challenges highlight urgent needs for localized, rapid, and interdisciplinary responses that integrate health, agriculture, and social support systems and data analytics demonstrated by this safety-net NGO/academic multidisciplinary primary care model with improved health outcomes above the general population which will be discussed in the presentation.
Description
Findings demonstrate that integrated NGO–academic partners strengthen resilience among climate-impacted HIV-positive women, linking health care, mental health, economic stability, and climate-adaptation strategies through strong nurse-led principles for healthy communities. This multidisciplinary, community-embedded model advances gender equity, supports local sustainability, and offers a scalable framework for global regions facing challenges of climate change, poverty, and chronic disease.