#AfricaMonth: AHF opens fourth clinic in Swaziland

Realisation of 90.90.90 goal

“The launch of the fourth clinic is part of the AHF’s contribution towards the realisation of the 90.90.90 goal adopted by the Swazi nation in its fight against the HIV epidemic and the AHF’s global campaign, 20X20, This urges stakeholders in the HIV sector to scale up treatment uptake, with the goal of getting 20m people on treatment by the year 2020,” says Terri Ford, AHF chief of global advocacy and policy.

Terri Ford, AHF chief of global advocacy and policy

Bouquet of integrated services

The clinic was created specifically for the timber plantation workers, their families and the surrounding communities. Their location and work schedules revealed limited access to HIV and sexual reproductive health (SRH) services. The plantations are considered private properties; hence, there are not so many government-run services in the area, making access to services in the surrounding communities difficult.

The clinic will serve all the residents in the Piggs Peak area (Northern Hhohho). It will act as the central point where outreach activities to the different plantations and communities will commence. With a bouquet of fully integrated services; including but not limited to screening and treatment of other chronic illnesses (TB, sexually reproductive health and non-communicable diseases), services in the clinic will be provided free of charge.

Encouraging public private partnerships

“It is encouraging to see such private public partnerships, where profit-making organisations like Peak Timbers are concerned about the welfare of their workers and surrounding communities, and also make an effort to see that health services are available to them. This should be replicated by all private sector companies for the benefit of the people and communities,” says Dr Penninah lutung, AHF Africa bureau chief.

In this partnership, Peak Timbers – through the Global Environmental Fund – provided the building facility and vehicle; the ministry of health provides the ARV drugs, laboratory services and overall mentorship; and the AHF-Swaziland covers the operations (HR, furniture equipment and supplements).

The AHF is the largest non-profit HIV/Aids organisation in the world. It provides healthcare to more than 600,000 patients in 36 countries, including the US, throughout Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, Europe and Asia. In Swaziland, it is better known as Lamvese and has been operating in the country since 2007 when its first clinic was opened in Manzini.