INTERNATIONAL medical relief organisation, Medicines Sans Frontier (MSF), has warned that access to antiretroviral treatment will remain beyond reach for many unless the country has revamped its community-led approaches.
Phyllis Mbanje STAFF REPORTER
MSF’s head of mission Fasil Tezera last week said community approaches adapt to the realities of those living with HIV and make access to ARVs easier and less costly.
“Effective, proper scale up of HIV treatment cannot happen with business as usual,” he said.
“There is need to fully embrace effective and efficient strategies that have proven to work for years already.”
MSF and the Health and Child Care ministry and other partners have adopted some of these strategies which have helped in decentralisation of ART to the grassroots where access to medication was one of the major barriers in the fight against HIV and Aids.
One such strategy is the Community ART Group (CAG), where just one group member travels to the clinic each time to pick up the drug refill for the others, cutting transport costs and saving on time.
“CAG’s address the problems of distance, time and money people spend in accessing their drugs and on the other hand decongest the clinics,” Sandra Simons, MSF medical co-ordinator in Zimbabwe, said.
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She said the groups should be empowered enough so that they become more responsible for their own welfare and accelerate the programme.
President of Zimbabwe HIV and Aids Activists Union Community Trust, Stanley Takaona said the strategies would ensure that the patients adhered to their treatment through supporting each other.
“It is important to use the consumer to spearhead the programme of community ART refill,” he said.
“People living with HIV and Aids can also benefit from supporting each other morally.”
Presently the CAGs have been implemented in Buhera, Gutu and Tsholotsho, where members collect three months’ supply of drugs.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe is hosting the Africa World Aids Day celebrations being held under the theme “Getting to zero in Africa — Africa’s responsibility, everyone’s responsibility”.
The commemorations are being held in Victoria Falls.
Zimbabwe is the third African country to host the event after Rwanda and South Sudan.
