Zimbabwe Urged To Adopt Innovative Solutions To Sustain Gains Achieved In HIV Prevention

By Wallace Mawire

The Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID) has joined the world in commemorating World AIDS Day 2023 and its timely theme of "Let Communities Lead," also calling on the Zimbabwe government to adopt innovative solutions to sustain gains so far achieved in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS.

According to a statement released by OPHID,as a nation, Zimbabwe is on the brink of reaching HIV epidemic control, however without innovative solutions to sustain the care and treatment services, and HIV prevention initiatives, the gains of past years could be reversed.OPHID works on creating innovative solutions for sustained epidemic control

The organizations says that this year’s theme emphasizes the vital role that communities play in ensuring quality, long term, sustainable HIV and TB prevention, care, and treatment services.

They add that communities play a vital role in building a sustainable response to HIV and TB. OPHID says that it recognizes the power of communities to lead, design, advocate, monitor, and document programs focused on controlling the HIV epidemic.

Through the TASQC (Target, Accelerate, Sustainable Quality Care for HIV epidemic control) programme, supported by PEPFAR through USAID, OPHID and its partners, the J.F. Kapnek Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe National Network of People living with HIV implement innovate strategies that bridge public health facilities and the communities their serve, and strengthen their capacity to offer integrated health services.

ln partnership with the Ministry of Health and Childcare (MOHCC), the TASQC programme supports 322 public health facilities and strengthens community health services in 15 districts in Zimbabwe.

Bridging public health facilities and communities for quality long-term care of people living with HIV Over the past four years, OPHID and its partners have worked with a vibrant team of community health workers who have supported the HIV response by linking clients in need to the services within facilities, provided counselling and health education, supported follow-up of clients who have missed appointments or vital treatment services like viral load monitoring, distributed HIV self-test kits to clients in need, and facilitated differentiated service delivery models such as community ART refill groups, and Out of Facility ART Distribution.

OPHID says that all approaches bring services closer to the clients enhancing the quality of their care.

OPHID supports Community Referral Facilitators (CRFs) who are patient experts, deployed to facilities to provide lay counselling and support from someone who have lived the experience. In addition, Community Outreach Agents and their Coordinators extend services and counselling from facilities to hard-to-reach areas, so that clients do not miss a step in their care as retention and adherence to treatment are critical for one’s quality of life.

In addition, OPHID says that community HIV and TB screening programs remain a priority to ensure that those in need of treatment or at risk are linked early to services.

The organization said that community health workers supporting the TASQC programme have had the opportunity to use an innovative mobile based application developed by their partner AVERT, called the Boost app. The app provides valuable high-quality information on HIV prevention, self-assessment tools, and personalized health education.

OPHID says that the community health workers can reach a wider audience and ensure that communities have the knowledge needed to stay healthy. Using the power of digital health messaging, Boost enhances the skills and Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development (OPHID) OPHID_Trust ophid_zimbabwe Organization for Public Health Interventions and Development confidence of community health workers to share accurate and actionable information with their clients and communities.

In addition, OPHID says that it  is committed to improving the quality of services as defined by the communities they serve.

‘’To achieve this, our programmes make use of feedback obtained from community members through Client Satisfaction Surveys. This enables us to identify service delivery gaps, areas for improvement, and ensure that our programming is responsive and inclusive,’’OPHID said.

They add that on this World AIDS Day 2023, OPHID and its TASQC programme partners celebrate the contribution of community health workers, advocates, and activists, who amplify the voices of communities and who are working to build sustainable solutions for quality care.

OPHID has also called on all key stakeholders to recognize the value of communities in building sustainable health services.

‘Let us celebrate the resilience of communities, honor those affected by HIV and TB, and recommit ourselves to the goal of ending AIDS. Together, we can create a future generation, where healthy communities lead and thrive. Let communities lead the way,’’OPHID said.