UNITE FOR CHILDREN UNITE AGAINST AIDS

September 1, 2007

The Silele Clinic

In my last blog, I spoke about a visit to Ngozi Neighbourhood Care Point, in Hosea constituency in the Shiselweni region, where I found HIV positive children who are on Anti-Retroviral Therapy who travel many kilometers to get to the main hospital where they access Anti-Retrovirals (ARVs.) One of these children, 3 year-old Lomathemba Dlamini, started ARVs when she was 8 months old. This shows that if Prevention from Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) services had been available, she may not have been infected with the HIV virus from her mother in the first place.

The Red Cross International has partnered with UNICEF to promote community mobilization of PMTCT by conducting focus group discussions in African communities, including Swaziland. Through my previous discussion with Red Cross Swaziland, the Silele Clinic, which offers counseling and testing but does not provide Anti-Retroviral drugs, was chosen for this initiative.

I was honoured to work with a team from the International Red Cross, UNICEF and the Government in conducting focus group discussions at the Silele Clinic as part of a mission to identify gaps in service delivery for mothers and children, especially PMTCT services.
The consulted groups included community leaders, women, men, service providers and young people. The following gaps were identified from these focus group discussions:
* Silele Clinic does not offer holistic services in relation to HIV;
* There is still discrimination of HIV positive people by community members;
* Lack of knowledge on HIV and AIDS;
* High defaulter rate on ARVs due to lack of resources to access the main hospital;
* Poor participation of men in PMTCT and unavailability of food and water especially for people on ARVs.
  
The gathered community members were happy that someone listened to their concerns. While they asked for assistance, they also realized they had their own role to play. Several leaders expressed the importance of involving men in both prevention and treatment efforts. They stressed that community trainings should take place and men should be used to mentor other men to improve communication within families so that all people understand the importance of knowing one’s HIV status.

When the meeting ended, our joint team was pleased with the high level of participation and the honest feedback from the community. They pledged to support Silele Clinic in providing a holistic service in the near future. For its part, UNICEF pledged to support the clinic and assist the government in doing a comprehensive needs assessment of the clinic as well as ascertain staff skills and equipment needs. Thereafter, staff will be trained in the administration of Anti-Retroviral Therapy if needed and then equipment and drugs will be supplied to the Silele Clinic.

The sun began to set, cooling off what had been another scorching day. As the team and I drove back to the capital city from this rural community, I clutched my notepad and reviewed the day’s happenings; the concerns, the challenges and the hopes. I was happy that a step towards the right direction had been initiated. One of UNICEF’s objectives on the PMTCT program is to ensure that rural clinics are supported to achieve comprehensive PMTCT and Anti-Retroviral Therapy services. I am also confident that eventually, a holistic service delivery will be achieved and that the Community of Hosea, especially children, will benefit.