Clinic bags HIV award

SEKE North Clinic has received an award from the Government for being the best institution in Greater Harare that initiates HIV-positive patients to Anti-Retroviral Therapy the same day they test positive through the “Same Day Initiation” programme.

The programme is under the National HIV Quality Management Art 4 All Collaborative.

The Ministry of Health and Child Care, with technical support from URC-ASSIST, a private organisation, last year launched the ART4 All Collaborative to accelerate the “Treat All” programme that is meant to cover as many people who are living with HIV in Zimbabwe as possible.

The programme includes a panel focusing on same-day treatment initiation featuring clinic referral facilitators, whose role includes counselling, referral to treatment initiators and navigation.

Seke North Clinic nurse-in-charge Mr Robert Jaka said they felt humbled by the gesture.

“We are very happy and so humbled to be the overall winners of this programme in the Greater Harare. We worked very hard to improve our services to our residents and will continue to maintain that,” he said.

Mr Jaka added that they want to meet the WHO target of having an HIV-free society by 2020.

“Our major objective is to initiate 100 percent of people we identify to be HIV positive on ARVs the same day they get tested here.

“The world goal is to have 90 percent of people living with HIV to know their status so that they can have total suppression of the virus by 2020,” he said.

The clinic had by December last year registered 4 695 people on ARVs.

This programme focuses on both newly diagnosed and pre-ART patients and is expected to run through June 2018.

Harare, Chitungwiza, Epworth and Manyame districts are participants in the programme.

Seke North Clinic was awarded a certificate and trophy for beating more than 37 other clinics that participated in the programme.