If there is only one page you read on our web site, let it be this page as it will provide you with a comprehensive idea of our
focus, vision and mission.

Dr. Laura Louie, ND, MSc

We are a small but dynamic Canadian not-for-profit organization that focuses on sustainable grassroots projects in developing countries.  Our programs concentrate on providing healthcare and improving the quality of life (QoL) of impoverished people with a focus on people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) through cost-effective acupuncture treatment, nutritional counselling, the creation of self-sustaining garden projects and the provision of a variety of HIV/AIDS educational programs in disease prevention, stigma/discrimination and gender inequality. Currently we have a project in northern Thailand and are in the process of starting another project in Tanzania. The global effects of HIV and AIDS are overwhelming.  Over the course of the last 25 years since the discovery of the HIV virus in 1981, more than 25 million people have died of AIDS.  More than 38.6 million people were estimated to be living with HIV at the end of 2005.  The epidemic has radically influenced the physical and emotional well-being as well as financial security of many individuals, communities and nations.  The devastating outcomes of the disease are evident.

While universal access to anti-retroviral therapy (ARV) is extremely important, we now know that many affected by AIDS will not have this opportunity for several years to come.  We also know that for every person with access to treatment, four new people are infected with HIV.  So treatment without prevention is unsustainable.  Treatment needs to include those therapies that maintain health and improve quality of life while patients wait for ARV.  In addition, we have learned that tackling AIDS without proper nutrition is unlikely to succeed.  ARVs do not work without adequate food; pills alone are not enough.  Proper nutrition is not seen as a critical factor in HIV and it should be.  Furthermore, lack of HIV education in indigenous languages as well as the continuing personal and social damage caused by HIV-stigma and gender inequality problems are significant underlying issues that must be addressed before AIDS can be eliminated.  That’s why grassroots programs are key and why our projects in Thailand and Tanzania really make a difference.

When we talk about HIV/AIDS treatment, we hear that the most optimum treatment is ARV, an intervention that is proven to extend the lives of PLHIV.  Fortunately in Thailand, this drug therapy is more accessible than in Africa.  This expensive drug therapy is, however, not without extreme side effects that include pain, peripheral neuropathy, diarrhea and insomnia.   Fortunately, these side effects as well as the symptoms of chronic HIV infection can be helped by acupuncture.  Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a long history of being used to enhance the immune function.  In the setting of HIV, TCM allows for symptom treatment without adding extra medications to an often complex drug regiment.  By decreasing symptoms, acupuncture also has the potential to improve quality of life.

The Mae On Project is a pilot project using acupuncture for symptom relief and improved quality of life in PLHIV in rural northern Thailand.  At the end of 2005, amongst this country’s population of 64.2 million, 580,000 adults and children were estimated to be living with HIV or AIDS and approximately, 21,000 AIDS related deaths were recorded.

The provision of  therapeutic strategies to help improve the quality of life of PLHIV in resource poor settings is needed and was one of the key reasons for the establishment of this project.  The project was launched in April 2004 with three main objectives:

1. To develop a pilot program to train medical staff in acupuncture as adjunctive treatment for PLHIV at Mae On Hospital in northern Thailand.
2. To create a free clinic at Mae On Hospital to provide acupuncture for PLHIV.
3. To undertake an evaluative pilot study using quantitative and qualitative data to assess the efficacy of acupuncture on QoL, the symptoms of chronic HIV infection and the side effects of ARV therapies. 

This project demonstrated the feasibility of establishing a hospital-based acupuncture clinic for PLHIV in rural northern Thailand in less than 12 months, using local nursing staff.  Acupuncture was not only acceptable to this population but many participants requested that other similar clinics be started in other districts to accommodate those PLHIV who were not able to get transportation to the Mae On Hospital.   The director of Mae On Hospital and the head nurse of the HIV/AIDS program were extremely satisfied with the acupuncture program and requested training for more nurses. Details of a recent evaluation of the Mae On project were presented at the 16th International AIDS Conference in August 2006 (MOPE0222).

Thai Nurse, Ms. Unchalee Pultajuk, Doing Acupuncture at Mae On Hospital

Acupuncture has important potential benefits for this resource-poor area.  In this project, it was well tolerated and safe, with no adverse complications reported.  Acupuncture has few serious side effects if used correctly, and has no biochemical interactions with allopathic medications including ARVs.   Treatments can be planned around the availability of hospital staff, and the patient’s work/life schedule. Following the study, calculations showed that acupuncture was very cost-effective. The average cost of a weekly acupuncture treatment for one participant (acupuncture needles plus other supplies) was approximately $1.45 US, translating to roughly $5.80 US per month per patient. In addition, there were several secondary gains from acupuncture reported.  Many of the participants commented that they experienced improved appetite, better sleep, less stress, and more energy, even though they were not treated directly for these conditions.

Admittingly, the Mae On Project has made only a tiny impact among the millions who are infected with HIV.  But over the last three years, we have made a very tangible difference in small communities of HIV affected people and their families.  Here is a sampling of remarks from some of these people’s interviews:

“Acupuncture is very good because it helps to reduce or get rid of any symptoms we may have without having to depend on medicines.  I’m already taking anti-retroviral therapy.  If I had to take pain killers for back pain or medications for numbness, I feel I’m putting more chemicals in my body and I worry that all these drugs combined together could have a bad effect (on the body).  Acupuncture is a way to treat myself without having to take extra medications and it’s also effective at the same time.”

“Prior to having acupuncture I was aware of the symptoms and this would cause me some stress.  But now that these symptoms have eased, almost gone, I don’t think about this anymore and consequently feel emotionally and spiritually better.  And I can also look to the future with greater hope because I don’t have to worry about these symptoms anymore.” 

“Acupuncture increases my hopes and aspirations and gives me encouragement, strengthens me.  I have something to lean on.  If I don’t come here, I feel like I’ve left something out of my life…”

After 4 successful years creating and maintaining an acupuncture program in Thailand, we felt the time was right to consider starting a similar project in Africa.  The Foundation is in the development phases of initiating an acupuncture program (comparable to the Mae On Project in Thailand), in collaboration with Dr. Godfrey Swai, a Tanzanian Medical Doctor and Public Health Specialist based in Dar es Salaam.  The Tanzania Project is due to start in 2008.  Dr. Swai has nearly 30 years of experience in the management and control of health and diseases in the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region with particular emphasis on East Africa and Tanzania.  He has experienced the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region in 1983 and its evolution into a disaster.  Dr. Swai is in the process of setting up an innovative clinic combining allopathic (conventional) medicine with complementary and alternative medicines with a focus on HIV care in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  Dr. Swai has invited the Foundation to provide training for nurses at the clinic in acupuncture for the treatment of HIV/AIDS.  Training will be provided free of charge by the Foundation.

Thai Nurse, Ms. Duangdean Ruensa, Doing Acupuncture at Mae On Hospital

As you may be aware, the HIV/AIDS epidemic in SSA is rampant.  The region, including approximately 44 countries, is home to just over 10% of the world’s population but hosts more than 60% of all people living with HIV on the planet.  The total number living with HIV/AIDS in this area at the end of 2005 totalled 24.5 million.  Newly infected cases in 2005 numbered 2.7 million in this zone.  Approximately 80% of the world’s 15 million AIDS orphans live in SSA.  The escalating stigma against the disease and affected people in SSA has forestalled the process of effectively dealing with the ever-increasing destruction of HIV/AIDS.  Nearly 150 countries in the world have succeeded in controlling the HIV/AIDS epidemic without using vaccines or drugs.

In Tanzania where the population was approximately 36.5 million at the end of 2005, there were 1.4 million people living with HIV.   The infection rate among adults between the ages of 15 and 49 was 6.5%.  In the same year, 140,000 AIDS-related deaths were recorded while the population of AIDS orphans numbered 1.1 million.

There do appear to be simple ways and means of averting the destruction and devastation of AIDS in SSA.  One way is to provide HIV/AIDS information to people in their indigenous languages.  Other ways to forestall the AIDS disaster include nutrition and garden projects as well as education programs in HIV/AIDS prevention, stigma reduction and gender equality.  These types of programs are extremely important and necessary for the fight against AIDS.  Dr. Swai, in partnership with the Foundation, is also planning to create these types of programs at the clinic in Dar es Salaam.

Dr. Godfrey Swai, MD and Dr. Laura Louie, ND, MSc

The Foundation is also helping to print the only comprehensive book in Kiswahili on the control of the HIV/AIDS disaster in Africa.  The book is titled Jikomboe and has been written by Dr. Swai.  Jikomboe in Kiswahili means ‘save your life singly and collectively’.  It is the first book of its kind written in a vernacular language.  Kiswahili is the most common local language of the people of East Africa and the Great Lake countries.  It is also one of the official languages of the African Union.  The Foundation has written a small section in this book about the benefits of acupuncture for HIV/AIDS.  We are hoping to raise $10,000 US for the initial printing of this important and extremely helpful book.

Funds raised will be used to provide the following:

• On-going training in advanced acupuncture therapeutics and financial support for the acupuncture clinic in Thailand.
• Training in acupuncture for healthcare providers.
• Acupuncture clinic set-up.
• Acupuncture treatments for impoverished adults and children, many living with HIV.
• Educational scholarships for children affected by HIV.
• Nutrition and garden projects (remember medicines don’t work without adequate food).
• HIV/AIDS education, stigma reduction and gender-equality programs.  These are all essential to enhance prevention and to assist people in understanding the importance of getting tested for HIV.

The majority of the projects are staffed by a team of volunteers who dedicate their time and energy towards these valuable programs.

We welcome your generosity in helping to make these important projects a reality. Your support will make a difference in the lives of many impoverished individuals.
Please click here to visit our Donation Page.

For more information about the Founder and Directors of the Laura Louie Hope Foundation, please click here. 

And please visit our Mae On and Tanzania Pages for more details about our activities in Thailand and Africa.

Sources
The above noted statistics on the world epidemic of HIV & AIDS were published by UNAIDS/WHO in May 2006 – UNAIDS/WHO 2006 Report on the global AIDS epidemic – and were taken from the web site www.avert.org. The website was accessed on September 5th, 2006.