Health is our first wealth. It takes an effort each and every day to live a healthy life. In Cameroon, approximately one in 20 adults is HIV-positive. In places like the Far North of Cameroon, it is difficult to access education and health services. Poverty, food insecurity, and other disease outbreaks, such as cholera, make life more difficult. On top of this, there is a significant stigma surrounding HIV in Cameroon, mostly because people don’t know what AIDS is, or how they can protect themselves. These realities impelled us to found EFA International to help those infected with or affected by HIV to seek the care and resources they need to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

For over half a decade, EFA International has responded to its mission of promoting the successful future of young men and women who are touched by HIV. 2010 has been a big year! We are proud of what has been achieved by our programs:

• The number of youth trained in HIV prevention education and community mobilization has more than doubled, with new curricula on the role of Men As Partners introduced in 2010
• EFA-supported associations are continuing to conduct profitable and productive income generating activities, with funding through the UNDP
• Circle of Love, a program for vulnerable HIV-positive women to cover costs and access needed medical diagnostics, was established
• EFA-supported associations are building partnerships with local health centers to ensure the quality and continuum of care provided to people living with HIV/AIDS
• EFA’s Youth Empowerment Network is expanding across Northern Cameroon with 4 new groups established or in training in 2010
• Our technical support to the Child Support Center in Rwanda is on the verge of being completed and transferred to local partners, with continued financial support for school fees to orphans

EFA International has nurtured new and ongoing partnerships. We are the proud recipients of two new grants in 2010:

the PEPFAR VAST, and an innovative grant from TrustAfrica to integrate sexual- and gender-based violence issues into our

Peer Education training. Our relationship with Peace Corps solidified as we congratulated the successful term of our second community health volunteer and prepare for two more. The exemplary rapport formed between HIV-positive associations and nearby health facilities prompted EFA to initiate a more official partnership with the Ministry of Health’s regional

directorate, which became official in July 2011.

We are grateful to you, our donors, for your support that has enabled these successes. You are exemplifying the African proverb that “Rain does not fall on one roof alone”, reminding us that we must all take responsibility to protect our

community from the storm, but that the rain’s benedictions will benefit all.

We are together! On est ensemble!

Respectfully,

Rachel Hoy Deussom, MSc

Co-Founder, Chair Board of Directors, EFA International

Download the 2010 Annual Report (.pdf)