HIV/AIDS: Research and Palliative Care (Aug 2021)
Experiences and Lessons Learnt from the HIV Treat All Pilot Phase Implementation in Zimbabwe
Abstract
Richard Makurumidze1– 3 1Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe; 2Department of Clinical Sciences, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium; 3Gerontology, Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Brussels, BelgiumCorrespondence: Richard MakurumidzeFaculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, ZimbabweTel +263772759296Email [email protected]: Zimbabwe adopted the Treat All recommendations and started to implement them nationwide in 2017. Before launch, Treat All was piloted in nine districts. The sharing of implementation experiences and knowledge gained will significantly contribute to the implementation success in settings where Treat All still needs to be rolled out. We report on experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of Treat All during the pilot phase in Zimbabwe. Coordination and well-structured engagement plans with the districts led to the successful implementation of the Treat All pilot. The established technical working groups offered standardisation and a platform for the exchange of experience between the implementing partners and the Ministry of Health and Child Care. Training and capacity building of the healthcare workers through mentoring, support and supervision, and the provision of job aides were necessary to equip them with the required skills. Community knowledge, commitment and support were critical to the successful implementation of the guidelines. Health facilities preparedness was of great importance. This enabled the health facilities to develop mitigating strategies at the local level using existing resources. Studies examining how patient outcomes will progress under Treat All are pertinent.Keywords: HIV, antiretroviral therapy, Treat All, sub-Saharan Africa
