/ 9 December 2016

A world leader in combating HIV

By example: Free State Health MEC Butana Kompela gets a health screeening
By example: Free State Health MEC Butana Kompela gets a health screeening

Through rotating World Aids Day events among districts, the Free State tries to ensure that each citizen of the province is able to interact with the heightened activism occurring in the fight against the scourge of HIV and Aids. The province’s health department also knows it has to deal with pressing socioeconomic issues in parallel with fighting this and other diseases.

“We are satisfied that our department has stabilised the various programmes that help to fortify our comprehensive response and fight to end the myth and misery around HIV and Aids,” said the Free State’s MEC for Health, Butana Komphela, discussing HIV, Aids and the Universal Test and Treat (UTT) programme.

“The Free State province has worked hard at hosting the commemorative events of the annual World Aids Day, with commemorative events held this year in Welkom’s Zuka Baloyi Stadium.

“South Africa is renowned worldwide for having implemented the most radical and comprehensive fight against HIV and Aids. In the years since 2009, the country has increasingly enabled access to life-saving drugs and implemented various programmes aimed at easing access to prevention, treatment and destigmatisation programmes for all the people who are infected and affected by the virus.

“As part of rolling out these progressive, comprehensive and holistic programmes, Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi announced in his budget speech on May 10, 2016 that in order to reach the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets by 2020, South Africa had to scale up National Health Insurance facility decongestion to reach 800 000 patients during the 2016/2017 financial year. This has led to South Africa implementing the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) evidence-based guidelines of UTT on September 1, 2016.”

Komphela said UTT means that all HIV-positive people, be they children, adolescents or adults, are started on lifelong antiretroviral treatment (ART) as soon as they are diagnosed — regardless of their CD4 cell count. This is meant to assist them immediately, so they don’t wait until their immune system becomes weak and compromised. Patients who have already tested positive and are on a wellness programme shall also be considered for UTT.

“Willingness and readiness to start ART shall be assessed, and patients who are not ready after assessment shall be kept in the wellness programmes to sustain the strengthening of their immune systems through healthy living programmes,” said Komphela.

As part of its state of readiness, the Free State has started with the process of freeing up space in the clinics through implementing differentiated care facility decongestion strategies, including spaced and fast-lane appointments, adherence clubs and Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD).

“This means that patients who are adherent and stable on treatment can be allowed to choose a preferred medication collection service from these three options,” said Komphela. “This will allow clinic personnel to focus on the new patients to be admitted with the introduction of UTT.

“We now have 49 facilities that are implementing adherence clubs, with 24 648 patients now in these clubs.

“Thabo Mofutsanyana as the provincial National Health Insurance district started with CCMDD in 2014 and to date 39 360 patients are registered to collect medication in pick-up points outside of the health facilities, such as NGOs, medicine dispensing facilities, corporate pharmacies and private doctors’ surgeries, amongst others, with 87 pick-up points now registered.”

The MEC also mentioned the district municipality of Lejweleputswa, which now has 3 500 patients collecting medication from 14 registered pick-up points since it started on this programme in 2016.

“Priority is placed on starting a decanting programme for facilities with more than 1 500 patients on ART,” he said.

“The Free State province has budgeted R370-million for antiretrovirals (ARVs), over and above stock brought over from previous financial year, and has received global funding support at the national department of health for an NHI pilot site. Our gloves are off — we will fight this debilitating disease in this province,” concluded Komphela.