Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2005. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg) - April 6,2005
Free State fumbles: During the first open forum since the government announced the anti-retroviral (ARV) roll-out in November 2003, health workers, researchers and officials last week shared their experiences of the programme, writes Kerry Cullinan.
The conference, co-hosted by the Free State health department and the University of the Free State, heard how 95 patients in the province died within six months last year while waiting for ARVs. Their treatment was compromised by a shortage of these drugs.
Health workers told how the disruption of the drug supply dented the programme's credibility and health workers' morale.
The programme was further slowed down by the fact that laboratories took four weeks to process CD4 tests to determine whether patients were eligible for ARVs.
Health workers were also concerned that not enough men and children are receiving ARVs. Only 33% of patients on ARVs in the Free State are men.
Only 8% of patients on ARVs at Bongani Hospital in Welkom are children. Many health workers admitted they did not know how to administer the treatment to children.
The hospital, which was the first ARV treatment site in the province, has lost five of the seven doctors qualified to work in its ARV clinic.
Meanwhile, a province-wide household survey showed that much work still needs to be done on communication about HIV/Aids.
Only 45% of people in the Free State knew what caused Aids and more than half of residents had never even heard of ARVs, according to Judith Matthis, a researcher from the CIETafrica, which conducted the survey.
Almost a third (31%) of people believed that condoms caused Aids, while others said women spread Aids by menstruation, prostitution and using contraception.Of those who had heard of ARVs, 15% had incorrect information. Some believed the drugs should only be taken when a woman was pregnant or had been raped, while others believed the drugs only worked if taken before HIV infection occurred. "
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