I am delighted to be here today to launch the Strategic Plan for 2005 – 2009 for Open Heart House.
This Plan charts the future vision for an organisation that has undertaken immense work in recent years supporting people living with HIV/AIDS. As the biggest project of its type in Ireland, you have had a real impact not just here in my own constituency, but across Dublin city and, indeed, on a national level as well.
The figures alone speak for themselves. Since your establishment in 1997, your membership has increased from just 18 to 425 today; during 2004, some 9,500 meals were provided under your Meals Programme; and the number of volunteers working for Open Heart House has more than trebled since your establishment just eight years ago. In an era where time is more valuable than money, this remarkable degree of volunteerism is to be applauded.
It shows how effective and worthwhile such activity is to the client, the organisation and indeed civil society. Indeed, I recently announced the setting up of a Task Force on Active Citizenship.
In launching this Strategic Plan today, I would like to pay tribute to the Management Process Group who facilitated and led the development of this blueprint for the future. Particular thanks go to Paula Gilmore, Anne Hederman, James O'Connor and Pat Nolan. Not only have you provided the direction necessary for the development of this Plan, you have also granted the time and space necessary for all key stakeholders to provide their input into the process.
In fact, the particular strength of this Plan lies in the extent of consultation undertaken with members, staff, volunteers, hospitals and clinics and all those charged with the governance of Open Heart House. In this way, you have captured the needs of those working and participating at the very frontline of this service. I know that ongoing consultation is enshrined in this Plan. Your emphasis on a “continuous, rolling process of inquiry” will ensure the development of services and supports at Open Heart House to meet members’ evolving needs.
I would also like to take the opportunity today to pay tribute to the staff and many volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of Open Heart House. By operating as a community, where all members are centrally involved in the project, you ensure that the qualities of welcome and inclusion remain at the core of your work.
Through this community, members gain the confidence and strength necessary to live with HIV/AIDS. I know that members too, play a very important role in providing support for one another – enabling discussion and learning about the virus and driving activities such as the Meals Programme, which are so important to your work.
By working in partnership with one another and with support from religious communities, healthcare specialists, the business community and Government Departments and Agencies, you have developed a model that addresses the needs of those living with the virus and their families and friends, in both a practical and holistic way. This Strategic Plan charts the ongoing partnership necessary, as well as the steps needed, to ensure the long-term sustainability of that model.
The reality is that we must continue the campaign to eliminate the threat of HIV/AIDS in our communities. Too often, people believe that the disease is confined simply to Africa, and sub-Saharan Africa in particular. HIV/AIDS is, in fact, a global problem. It is estimated that 40 million people are living with HIV/AIDS – 1.2 million of whom reside in Europe and Central Asia. The most recent statistics from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre show there were 356 newly diagnosed HIV infections reported in Ireland last year.
HIV impacts not only on the individual but also on his/her family and the wider community. That is why it is important that support services that embrace the needs of all affected are put in place.
Almost €5.5 million in additional annual funding has been provided to health boards in Ireland since 1997, to address the treatment of HIV/AIDS and other Sexually Transmitted Infections. I am particularly delighted that a further €100,000 was recently approved by the Health Service Executive Northern Area for Open Heart House. This funding is provided for groups involved in projects under the National AIDS Strategy. I know that some €20,000 was also provided by the Department of Health and Children for your Therapies Programme this year.
Government policy is that all those who test positive for HIV should be offered appropriate treatment free of charge. Routine antenatal testing for HIV was introduced in 1999, for example, and is effective in identifying women who are HIV positive at an early stage in pregnancy. Furthermore, information campaigns have been designed to inform the public about the dangers of HIV/AIDS. With greater mobility of populations today, there is a more urgent need to ensure that everyone, and in particular young people, are aware of the facts about HIV and AIDs.
In attempting to combat the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS, it is our aim to continue to develop, deliver and expand initiatives, in partnership with other key stakeholders for vulnerable groups. The reality is that no one individual or organisation has the complete answer. HIV/AIDs does not discriminate, and neither should the response to it be one-dimensional. In this regard, innovation in terms of research and health care must be matched by organisational and bureaucratic innovation.
This Strategic Plan sets out the innovation needed for Open Heart House going forward. I am delighted to have had the opportunity to launch the Plan today and we in Government look forward to playing our part in your future success.
Thank you.
ENDS