Every day makes a difference

Greta just sent us this "snapshot" of a day at one of Swaziland’s main HIV clinics, the Mbabane Public Care & VCT Center (VCT stands for Voluntary Counseling and Testing), so we can all get an idea of how (RED) money works on the ground in Africa.

To view more photos from Greta, go to the (RED) Flickr page. --bn

We arrive at Mbabane VCT Center at 9:30am and the waiting room is already full of people. The doors here open early, at 6:30am, specially for those clients who can’t afford to miss time off work. They come on foot, they come by crowded mini-bus and some are physically helped by loved ones because they’re not strong enough to make the trip on their own. This is a busy clinic.

The ARV center

Dr Patrick Okoth, one of the clinic’s four doctors, tells us that he and his colleagues will have seen about 120 patients by the end of their day and that’s not including those people who were coming in to see a volunteer counselor, visit the pharmacy or get tested for the very first time.

Dr. Patrick

Dr Patrick explains how Swaziland’s high HIV-prevalence rate is being played out in very human terms here before our eyes. Around 20 people come to the center each day to be tested for HIV and about 14 of these 20 will go home with the life-changing news that they are HIV-positive.

Just down the hallway, 10 more people are gathering in the clinic’s only meeting room for an informal but thorough briefing session to explain to them the commitment that beginning antiretroviral (ARV) medication entails. They’re a mixed group – from the cool young guy with a baseball cap, to the shy woman in her 30s, to two very unwell men in their 20’s or 30’s both languishing restlessly in wheelchairs alongside their mother and brother respectively. For an hour and a half we listen in as they’re taught the importance of eating well, remembering to take their ARV pills at the same time each day, and how their ARV medication will need to be a lifelong commitment. By the end of the session you can see them physically brighten as they hear there’s good reason for them to look forward to healthy, active lives.

These 10 will join the 6,500 people who rely on this clinic in Mbabane for their care and their ARV medication. And, in turn, everyone here relies on money from the Global Fund and (RED) to help buy these lifesaving pills and provide other vital services.

From here we head to the clinic’s dispensary where another group of clients is waiting to collect their prescriptions. Many of them are now able to pick up two months' worth of ARV pills at one time which has been a real blessing for those who make day-long journeys to get here and back home again. This is valuable time saved when you are trying to support a family.

ARVs at the dispensary

If it’s done just one thing, this day here has really brought home to me just what a difference even one day can make to the lives of many. 120 patients seen and cared for, 20 HIV tests, 10 new people educated on taking ARVs, hundreds of pills given away, and many given hope. A powerful difference in just 9 hours.

--Greta