▶️ The post “It was such a relief to not have to go to the clinic every month” appeared first on TAC.
Millions across Africa are already getting a 6 month supply, so why not here in South Africa where we have the biggest HIV burden in the world? Below we hear from Lebohang Mokhele, TAC’s National Representative of People Living with HIV who lives in Gauteng. Lebo explains how South Africa has managed in the past to very quickly roll out changes to the HIV programme to make it easier for people living with HIV to stay on treatment. Yet it’s now December 2024 and while more people are getting a 3 month supply in Gauteng, there is no public implementation plan in place for getting people a 6 month supply. She calls on the department to prioritise giving all stable people living with HIV a 6 month supply now!
In the 10 years that Lebo has been on ART she says there have been a few key improvements in helping people stay on treatment. She says the time is right to make a 6 month supply of ARVs the next step forward.
Lebo who uses the Boitumelo Clinic in Sebokeng says for her the tilt points in the decade came with the introduction of fixed- dose treatment; then there was CCMDD – the introduction of external pick-up points freed people from having to do ARV pick-ups inside clinics, then dolutegravir, a better ARV medicine with few side effects. But, she says, a most important introduction came with multi-month supply of ARVs – 2 months supply and then recently 3 month supplies at a time.
Lebo is on a 3 month supply currently and collects from a pharmacy in a mall in Alberton.
“When multi-month started for me just after Covid-19, it was such a relief to not have to go to the clinic every month. Our clinic is so small we even call it “The Mkhukhu Clinic” (the shack clinic). The infrastructure is bad, and it’s overcrowded. People have to wait outside, rain or shine, because only four people can be inside the clinic at any time. We have more people coming from the new informal settlements around the area so there are too many people,” says Lebo.
Now she says it’s time for 3 month supply to be boosted to 6 month supply. As a TAC leader, she does advocacy and outreach at clinics, and she says unanimous feedback is that a 6 month supply should be given to people who are stable.
“I think that there are so many people who are tired of being in those clinic queues, waiting for so long and having to face the bad infrastructure and sometimes the bad attitudes of nurses. It will make sure they stick to their treatments if they get a 6 month supply of ART. I really don’t see that there will be problems,” she says.
Lebo adds that along with 6 month supply there should also be additional pick-up points outside of malls. These include at community based organisations that are based closer to where people actually live in townships. These are more ways to make sure it’s easier for people to stay on treatment and to take charge of their health, Lebo says.
* Name changed to protect identity
#MoreARVPillsNow
Follow us on social media (facebook, X, instagram) for regular updates.
