anrep0607 - Health Systems Trust

up home visits to trace defaulters. On average 40 children are weighed each month per
site, ‘Road to Health’ cards are checked, and referrals made between Community Growth
Monitoring and IMCI points and Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities.
Intersectoral collaboration is a critical component of the project, and the Departments of
Agriculture and Social Welfare and Development provide training and support of community
volunteers including aspects such as accessing grants, technical support at the clinic,
demonstration gardens and seeds to communities for communal gardens. The Agricultural
Research Council is piloting recently tested yellow sweet potato, found to have a high
Vitamin A content, in some of the project areas.
HST also supported the Department of Health (DoH) in KwaZulu-Natal to develop nutrition
advisors to increase capacity to expand community based interventions, and the project
is now fully integrated within the DoH INP. The Eastern Cape DoH has also utilised the HST
model to expand project activities and initiate additional activities, such as running soup
kitchens in other clinics.
Mpumalanga Antiretroviral Therapy Literacy Project
Project Managers: Nonkosi Slatsha and Noluthando Ford-Ngomane
Facilitators: Wanda Mthembu, Mzikazi Masuku and Vikitsha Mtshali
The Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) literacy project uses community mobilisation strategies
to equip individuals, families and communities to appropriately engage with treatment,
care and support of those infected and affected by HIV and AIDS. The project stresses the
importance of treatment adherence, benefits of knowing your status, nutrition in HIV, the
role of STI’s in HIV, and the interaction of TB and HIV.
During 2006/07 the project functioned in the clinic catchment areas (CCAs) of 67 feeder
clinics that support eight accredited ART sites in Mpumalanga. Key focus areas were the
promotion of ART literacy, strengthening of prevention and promotion initiatives and of
community support structures and networks. To strengthen community structures twelve
CBOs have been established and members trained to manage project activities and provide
support to the volunteers. The CBOs support and organise HIV related community meetings
and workshops, and provide strategic direction for the community interventions. Twenty
two community based resource centres run by trained volunteers provide health information
for the community and are stocked with condoms and information on ART, HIV and AIDS,
nutrition and TB in languages spoken by the local communities.
In terms of reach, 6 286 health promotion talks were given with 203 785 people in attendance,
3 638 homes were visited and 344 workplace and 57 community workshops were conducted
by volunteers. A total of 5 898 individuals were referred from these sessions to the clinics for
HIV counselling and testing. A total of 1 467 volunteer monitored community based condom
distribution points have been set up where none existed previously in the districts.
Strengthening HIV Counselling and Testing, and Enhancing HIV/AIDS
Communication, Prevention and Care
Project Manager: Noluthando Ford-Ngomane
Technical Advisors: Makhosazane Nyawo, Nomkita Gobodo and Nobanzi Dana
This project seeks to increase uptake of HIV counselling and testing (C&T) services, and
functions in five provinces (Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, North West Province
and the Eastern Cape). HST provides support in three (Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal and the
Eastern Cape) of the five provinces to introduce facility based provider-initiated C&T, and
integrating HIV C&T with TB, STI, antenatal care, family planning and other general clinical
services targeting both adults and youth. The University Research Cooperation (URC) is the
prime grantee and HST is sub contracted in this Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
(United States) funded project.
Specific project objectives are to:
▪ Increase the number of public and private facilities offering provider-initiated HIV
testing.
▪ Improve the capability and skills of health workers in C&T.
HEALTH SYSTEMS TRUST 18 ANNUAL REPORT 2006/07