HIV and AIDS awareness on the increase

Mon, 22 February 2010

The support that we as families receive all the time in health, education, community development and health education from the Hantam Trust helps us become a strong and supportive community” Manzana Maliti, project beneficiary (translated from Xhosa)

Progress Report 2: Hantam Community Trust: HIV/AIDS awareness and testing (http://www.sasix.co.za/projects/view/OVC-GP-MAY-0054/)

The Hantam Community Education Trust HIV and AIDS programme forms part of a more holistic intervention in the community, which includes education on hygiene and healthy living, effective parenting, growing vegetable gardens, preventing and addressing alcohol abuse, enabling family planning and encouraging HIV testing. The programme will include an intensive programme of HIV and AIDS awareness-raising and voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in the rural communities surrounding Hantam in the Northern Cape.

The project runs from May 2009 to April 2010. This report refers to the second phase of the project, from October 2009 to February 2010.

Outputs and Impact

• 16 more visits have been made to local farms. During these visits an additional 58 individuals were given HIV/AIDS education.
• The two HIV positive individuals continued to receive support services. This included 11 visits during which their health was monitored and they received grief and adherence counselling and were offered support in disclosing their statuses to their families. Support groups are currently being set up to offer continued assistance to these individuals.

Expenditure

The total project cost is R63,992, of which R43,469 has been paid, and R20,453 will be paid in the final tranche.

Description	Budget	Expenditure
General workers and Administration	710	710
Clinic Staff - Part Time	990	990
Health workers	18 750	13 677
Insurance	100	100
Printing	40	40
Auditing	68	68
Fundraising	100	100
Telephone and Postage	160	160
General expenses	100	100
Rations	40	40
Workman’s compensation and Bank charges	117	117
Vehicle Maintenance	19 023	13 859
Vehicle Fuel	20 400	14 779
Vehicle Replacement	100	100
Building	60	60
Furniture	150	150
Stationary	50	50
Medicines (HIV/AIDS)	2 964	1 969
TOTAL	63 922	47 069

Challenges

• Stigma continues to be a major obstacle for initiatives trying to combat HIV/AIDS in the region. Hantam have, at times, struggled to convince people of the importance of testing. However, over the duration of this project there has been a steady increase in the number of people willing to submit to an HIV test.

Monitoring and evaluation

Hantam follows well-structured monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems in order to maintain the quality of their programmes and identify arising issues in need of special intervention.

Health workers compile weekly reports including a detailed description of home visits, family situations, challenges faced and required follow-up steps. Counselling and testing sessions are recorded in individual’s file, together with home and farm visit reports.

Health workers and clinic staff meet weekly to monitor the progress of the project and to outline the next steps for individual cases. The meeting also provides staff with an opportunity to highlight and worrying health developments or need for referrals. The project manager responsible for coordinating outreach activities prepares and monitors projected weekly planning. She is also responsible for compiling quarterly reports, which serve to assess programme progress over time.

Clinical staff record and track their activities, including statistics on medicines provided, number of patients visited, cash-flow status, and so on. The clinical manager compiles these weekly reports into a monthly report which is then submitted to Hantam Director.

Conclusions

Hantam provides a holistic health service to a very isolated farming community, which is tailored to the needs of the families living on farms. They are meticulous in the monitoring of their various programmes.

More and more men and women are overcoming the stigma attached to HIV and are going for regular testing. Hantam has far exceeded its initial target of 26 VCT sessions. Even though there are only a handful of known cases of HIV infection, it is essential to continue raising awareness around the need for responsible sexual practices as well as the inclusion of those living with HIV and AIDS in the lives of the communities.

HIV and AIDS awareness in the increase

Fri, 18 December 2009

“ We understand that we can live a good life if we know our status. We can learn to share and help one another. We do not want to get sick.’ Tysie and David Allens [ Translated from Afrikaans]

REPORT 1: Hantam Community Education Trust: Community HIV/AIDS awareness and testing

The Hantam Community Education Trust HIV and AIDS programme forms part of a more holistic intervention in the community, which includes education on hygiene and healthy living, effective parenting, growing vegetable gardens, preventing and addressing alcohol abuse, enabling family planning and encouraging HIV testing. The programme will include an intensive programme of HIV and AIDS awareness-raising and voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) in the rural communities surrounding Hantam in the Northern Cape.

The programme runs from May 2009 to April 2010.

Outputs and impact

• 65 people have been counselled during 59 visits to 28 local farms. 33 people agreed to undergo HIV testing; two of those tested positive and were counselled. Since the Trust began its VCT programme in 2002, it has tested 133 people, and has identified 100 sexually active men and women who have not yet agreed to be tested.

• Hantam has identified three community members living with AIDS who are on antiretroviral (ARV) medication. They receive regular support and access to treatment through Hantam. Two more community members are HIV positive but have not yet begun ARV treatment; their health status is also constantly monitored.

• The clinic has collected R16,479 in fees since the beginning of the year, which is approximately 27% of the total cost of medicines used in a year. This income contributes to the sustainability of the organisation and gives an indication of the buy-in from the community.

Expenditure

The cost of the project was R63,922 with R 40,946 still to be paid. This budget is a portion of a larger intervention, which is funded with additional funding from other donors.

Description	Total Budget	Total Expenses to date
General workers and Administration	710	710
Clinic Staff - Part Time	990	990
Health workers	18 750	6 250
Insurance	100	100
Printing	40	40
Auditing	68	-
Fundraising	100	100
Telephone and Postage	160	120
General expenses	100	100
Rations	40	40
Workman’s compensation and Bank charges	117	117
Vehicle Maintenance	19 023	6 341
Vehicle Fuel	20 400	6 800
Vehicle Replacement	100	100
Building	60	60
Furniture	150	150
Stationary	50	50
Medicines (HIV/AIDS)	2 964	985
TOTAL	63 922	22 976

Monitoring and evaluation

Hantam follows well-structured monitoring, reporting and evaluation systems in order to maintain the quality of their programmes and identify arising issues in need of special intervention.

Health workers compile weekly reports including a detailed description of home visits, family situations, challenges faced and required follow-up steps. Counselling and testing sessions are recorded in individual’s file, together with home and farm visit reports.

Health workers and clinic staff meet weekly to monitor the progress of the project and to outline the next steps for individual cases. The meeting also provides staff with an opportunity to highlight and worrying health developments or need for referrals. The project manager responsible for coordinating outreach activities prepares and monitors projected weekly planning. She is also responsible for compiling quarterly reports, which serve to assess programme progress over time.

Clinical staff record and track their activities, including statistics on medicines provided, number of patients visited, cash-flow status, and so on. The clinical manager compiles these weekly reports into a monthly report which is then submitted to Hantam Director.

Conclusions

Hantam provides a holistic health service to a very isolated farming community, which is tailored to the needs of the families living on farms. They are meticulous in the monitoring of their various programmes.

More and more men and women are overcoming the stigma attached to HIV and are going for regular testing. Hantam has far exceeded its initial target of 26 VCT sessions. Even though there are only a handful of known cases of HIV infection, it is essential to continue raising awareness around the need for responsible sexual practices as well as the inclusion of those living with HIV and AIDS in the lives of the communities.