For the fifth year in a row, Keiskamma Trust Health programme has been invited to attend the PATA AIDS Conference. PATA stands for Paediatric Aids Treatment for Africa and is a yearly forum which brings together top experts in the paediatric care field. This year’s conference was held in Johannesburg and included PATA clinics from across Sub-Sahara. The focus for this year’s forum was on adolescent care. This year’s Keiskamma Trust team was made of Dr Carol Baker-Hofmeyr, Annette Woudstra, Eunice Mangwane and Thobeka Bhekani. The PATA programme consists of cutting edge practices and academic research, and combines that with practical planning for each clinics health program for the following year. It was an incredible privilege to be amongst colleagues providing excellent paediatric care from across Africa and we went away with many new tools and ideas for our paediatric and adolescent care. Keiskamma Trust loomed large during all the PATA proceedings thanks to the large embroidered and appliquéd Africa maps that we donated to the PATA offices in Cape Town, as well as the 145 conference bags that PATA commissioned and purchased from us for each delegate. Many encouraging contacts were developed during the intensive 5-day workshop, including the cementing of our relationship between Kidzpositive, an NGO founded by Dr Paul Roux, Paediatrician at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, who is also on our board of Trustees; and Partners In Heath (PIH), plans are on the way for both projects for the next year.On the photograph: Eunice Mangwane
